Why did I start photography?

Why did I start photography?

That’s the question I ask myself every time I begin something new. It’s also a reminder that as I search for meaning and purpose in life, I’ll always have an anchor to hold onto if I lose my way.

Just like when I started taking photography more seriously, why did I start?

I’m a writer (yeah, funny how my first introduction isn’t as a photographer, right?). But that was my starting point. Writing has always felt like everything to me. My pen takes me back to the past, anchors me in the present, and reminds me of the beauty that once was.

The farther I travel, the more I drift from home. Along the way, I meet people who pass through my life, leaving behind memories that shape my wandering heart. That’s why I write, to keep those moments alive. But in places where I don’t share a common language, even words, my greatest tool, feel limited. That’s where photography comes in. It became my way of connecting, of saying what words couldn’t.

I still remember my mentor in Japan, Yoshida san, who was the first person 

who taught me photography. He once handed me a stack of Japanese camera magazines and said: “You don’t need to understand Japanese, you can still understand what the photos say.”

And that’s where my story with photography began.