I honestly can’t even recall taking this picture. There are a few like that in my library and it bothers me. I don’t like that I experienced something that moved me to take a photograph but the memory of it is beyond my mind’s reach. It is, however, one of the greatest things about photography. No matter what my mind decides to file as important or throw like chaff to wind, I have the images I’ve taken to capture moments, feelings.
I can’t recall what it made me feel then but I know what it makes me feel now. The calming of a storm at the end of what appears to have been a tempestuous day balances beautifully with the warm light on Walt and Mickey. In a single, still image, the story is simple – the warmth of friendship can carry you through a storm.
Philosophical? You better believe it.
What is the point of art, if not to feel, reflect and express in tangible form the chaos bubbling inside us? To get art out of oneself is to silence the turbulent clamor within for a while. It’s not so very different from the storm clouds. Thoughts, ideas, emotions all take shape but so many of them fade before we can identify their form.
Art can be a friend. It will listen to you no matter what you have to say. It will teach you things about yourself you didn’t know. It will challenge you to grow. It will never judge or leave you. It will simply wait on you with a warm embrace to help you through an inner storm.
Can I get an amen?