Recently I was asked "How do you define yourself as a photographer?" and it got me to thinking. As a photographic artist, the tools I use to create don't define me. Just like a painter isn't defined by the medium or brushes he or she uses. It lives deeper than that.

So with what content do I fill my blank canvas? Sometimes it depends on my mood, sometimes on my assignment, sometimes on what is presented to me. But still, to define myself, I must dig a little deeper. What is it that I want to say? It is not "look at this pretty picture", is it? No, it's deeper than that. This 'shovel' is getting heavier as I dig deeper, and it's getting darker and a little bit scarier to me now. I don't show much emotion on the surface, but they exist below the surface. It's more personal, more real, more authentic when I have to dig deeper. And it's ultimately more rewarding. When I ask myself this question, I have to cut through the noise, then I get to find an answer. 

What I am trying to say through my photography is we live in a beautiful world. Let's take care of it. Let's do our part and enjoy what we have, and leave it in better shape for our children and grandchildren. There is beauty in the everyday things, in the natural world around us, in being honest and vulnerable and in the feeling of being so small in our galaxy. What I am trying to say is we'd all be a little better off if we let our guard down every so often and lifted our hearts to the heavens and appreciated just this very moment we are standing in. Truth lives in light, not in darkness. I am a seeker of light.

"In any season, any element of nature, I look for and find the beauty in it. Whether it is a grove of aspens in a sunlit forest or a couple of trains heading for their destination, I search for forms, lines, shapes, colours, textures and light and try to convey how it plays with my subject to capture a moment in time." - Terrill Bodner