Language of Light

Video Capture: Mother and daughter cross a bridge at sunset in Honduras

Current Location: Midland, Michigan, USA / 43°37′25.0″N 84°13′45.7″W

Journal entry on Wednesday December 10, 2008

While on assignment in Honduras, Central America

It's 3AM, and I'm awake. I never sleep much when I'm on foreign assignments. It's something I've never gotten used to. The constant haze in my nocturnal dreams tend to keep me awake, wondering what tomorrow may bring when the fog is lifted.

We've been travelling for almost 6 days now--traversing through some of the wildest terrain I've ever seen. Tougher than Afghanistan, rougher than Cambodia. My body aches at the thought of going up another mountain, yet, at the same time, my soul seeks adventure. It's an imbalance I'm willing to live with...for now.

We spend the majority of our day filming, talking to villagers and peering into their lives as they peer into ours. Walking into their homes, I can't help but to feel like a soldier--camera at my side, ready to 'shoot' at a moments notice. When the rooms became too dark to see, our lights illuminate their darkest secrets--casting shadows that dance upon their walls. And when we couldn't hear their every word, microphones absorb the slightest of whispers. By the time we're done, muddy boot prints on the floor mark the path of our existence.

Sometimes, in the darkest hours of the night, I wonder if they'll ever understand why we're here. I wonder if they'll ever understand how their faces can help change the course of humanity, the future of our being. I think they will...

Because every time I press 'Record' I'd look into their eyes. And as they stare into my lens, in a way, they're looking into mine. And without a word being said, we connect. It's a synapse of a moment that I cherish as a photographer--one that I can never explain. But during that brief moment when light travels thru glass, the glisten in their eyes signify an understanding that beholds everything that is true in humanity--the sheer fact that we are all one people, in one world. And through light, we all speak a universal language.

Sometimes, in the darkest hours of the night, I wonder the weirdest things. Tonight is one of those nights.

Tonight, I look back at my career, the images I've captured, the people I've met and the places I've been. And as I sit here on this bed in this hotel room, I smile to myself, alone. Who'd knew twenty five years ago when I recieved my very first camera that I'd be doing what I do--traversing the world, speaking a language of light.

Twenty five years ago tonight, I couldn't speak a word of English. But with my new camera from Fisherprice, I was taught a whole new language.

Happy Birthday, to me.