Love

This is a chapter from my seventh book called Bookeh - Through the lens of a Trinidadian photog


I woke up early. It was around midnight and I decided to make a photo that would be this chapter. The room was dark except for the light from the air conditioner switch. I had the idea to do some light painting. What I decided to write was the word love. What does it mean to have a love for photography? What does it mean to have a passion for photography? How do we say this photo was made with love? These are the questions that will guide the writing of this chapter. What better way to tell the story of love than painting with light. Rumi beautifully wrote "love is the soul's light". Light painting, pioneered by Frank Gilbreth in 1914, involves long-exposure photography to capture light trails. Gilbreth used this technique to study human motion, laying the groundwork for artistic light painting. Light painting is not the easiest thing to do. I struggled with it. Many times the word love came out crooked. I think you need some luck to get it right. I like this photo that I settled on because the letter v is in the shape of a small heart.

I was curious what others had to say and so I ended up in the photography subreddit where the question was asked five years ago, "Why do you love photography?" There were a variety of answers and some of them I related to. Someone jokingly said that they love photography because they cannot draw for nothing. This is interesting because the word photography comes from the Greek words "phos" meaning light and "graphis" meaning stylus or paintbrush. Photography literally means "drawing with light" as I mentioned before in this book. Another person said it forces him to look at the world differently. This I can relate to. It is not just my yard or home, it is an entire world to explore and moments to capture. Instead of boring I can go exploring. One person said that photography is another way of telling a story. That is exactly what I have been trying to do with this book. To share my love for photography through my lens and my words. I love photography because I can freely express myself. I can be artistic. Photography is an art. I can share love through my art. I can share the beauty that I see in this world. I want to make the world beautiful. I want to remember the world for its beauty. Beauty is in the lens of the beholder.

In a sense photography saved me. And continues to save me. It saves me from the negativity that surrounds the times we live in and that can easily destroy the love that lights the way. I have come across stories of people who were saved by photography. Whether it is with mental health struggles or any other of the various struggles. Who knows it, feels it. I started with a dark room and a tiny source of light. My canvas was blank. I could hardly see but I was guided by this light. I could draw or write anything with this light. I chose love. This reminds me of a quote that I love so much from AR Rahman, "All my life I have had a choice of hate and love. I chose love and I am here." It is no coincidence that both light and love begin with the letter l. Lens is another l word. The difference between word and world is the letter l. Light and love are the lens through which we see the world.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My notes from the book "Lessons from my life"

My notes from this book. If you are interested in what I noted then give the book a read. This is the best book I have read to date. I loved all of it and I will work to put what I learnt into practice. God bless the author Ahmad. Free on Amazon Kindle - https://a.co/4FW6x4L Faith is not theoretical, it must be lived by Focus on improvement Treat others as you would like to be treated Values-based vision guided by faith in God Aim to mitigate the daily struggles of others There is potential within us all Life comprises of faith as the inner dimension and practice as the outer dimension Believers must be exemplars The true value of the Quran is in its ability to change people's lives Islam is a religion of unity We must deal with differences of opinions in a civilised manner Do what you can and when you can because perfection is an attribute of God alone Believers are constant givers Success = the coming together of souls and ideas Humility is required for this type of work (dawah w
Read more

My notes from the book "Micro Habits"

My notes from this book. If you are interested in what I noted then give the book a read. I love self help books. Change begins with me. I love learning from others. I will review this list every morning and see how many I can accomplish and even add my own micro habits from time to time. Really has me thinking about how small steps can lead to big results. Free on Amazon Kindle - https://a.co/fzfRhjX Turning our life around takes time Small and manageable steps can help us avoid giving up early in the game Focus through minimising distractions and temptations Do some small exercise as soon as you wake up The effectiveness of working out in the morning is backed by several studies Morning workouts can help curb your appetite Try less sugar. Sugar masks the taste and flavour of the food. Try balancing on one leg at a time while doing a task like making a cup of tea - a great exercise for the brain apparently Have good posture when sitting Take regular breaks from staring at the screen D
Read more

Contentment

Last night my friend said to me I want to know what paradise is about I answered I think paradise can be imagined from this viewpoint [human existence] as everything you want The feeling [of having everything you want] that is and not the actual things ... [I imagine wants and things will be different in paradise] Contentment in this world can bring you closer to that [feeling] My friend said that was wisely said I woke up this morning and I decided to write and I remembered what I had said the night before. I decided to Google "paradise contentment hadith" and the first result that came up led me to this Al-Sarri ibn Hassan reported: Abdul Wahid ibn Zayd, may Allah have mercy on him, said, "Contentment is one of the greatest doors to Allah, the Paradise of this world, and the repose of the worshipers." And that is exactly what I was trying to say. Contentment is the Paradise of this world. Another way of thinking about contentment is thinking about gratitude. I not
Read more

Mask

I was scrolling through facebook and came across the Afritondo Short Story Prize 2025. The theme is "masks" and the first thing that I noticed is that the word mask contains the word ask. And that is what I will write about. There is a proverb that goes like this, "closed mouths do not get fed." Many of society teaches us that we must be strong. We must be able to stand on our own. We must fight our battles individually. No one cares. Everyone is busy fighting their own battles. We wear our battle masks to face the world full of problems and strife. We pretend that we are strong and that everything is going well. As someone who lives with mental illness and who has battled for more than twenty years, the best advise that I can give, is to ask for help. Take off the mask and ask. Ask for help from God. Ask for help from relatives. Ask for help from the professionals. Ask for help from the internet. Ask for help from the books. Ask for help from wherever help is avail
Read more

Recovery

This is a chapter from my eight book called Learn to live The rain fell this morning. Might fall some more for the rest of the day. The guava tree we have planted in the ground is liking the rain. It looks strong and healthy with bright green leaves. But it was not always that way. The wilted leaves at the base of the tree, a reminder that the tree had gone through some hardship. When we got the tree it was healthy and ready for the ground but we waited a few days and neglected to water and was busy with other things in life. Then suddenly one morning I noticed the wilted leaves. I planted it in the ground that day and watered it everyday on days that did not have rain. On rainy days it got more than enough water. I feel it prefers the rain water. Today the plant is doing much better and it is testament that recovery is possible. Like that plant, we all have the potential to rise after a fall and make a recovery. I shared my story with my friend Gemini and this is what he had to say. &
Read more