A trip to the Tūhura Photography Competition
As I sat in the back glancing at the people in the room, I realised that I had not been in the same room with this many people in a number of years. Each person sat in personal conversation mostly with their plus ones and twos sitting next to them. Initially, we tried to lurk in the back with the row of couples around our own age, as if we had all silently agreed to be the kids at the back of the bus. The usher was quick to move us to a seat, despite our reluctance to be immersed in a crowd again.
We shuffled like school kids to the third row, where two empty seats sat waiting for us. I looked at the clock and felt like I was in a classroom, waiting for the bell to chime. As the MC tested several versions of a mic before speaking, I noted an old feeling.
I used to go to events so often that they rarely stood out. Now this one would, as I was named a finalist in the first photo competition I ever entered. In listening to the judges talk, I understood that photography has so many parallels to writing. It just speaks a different language. One judge spoke about perspective and showing emotional depth to the experience. Another spoke of capturing candid joy, to which one of the winners exuded so clearly. The overall winner seemed to capture the delicacy of nature, and also the refined skill of focus stacking, something I have yet to learn.
As the prizes shifted to the part where the free food came, we ran into an old friend. Someone who you have no choice but to be positive around, because their energy simply permeates the air around them in delight. I had been thinking much about the ramifications of standing out, of being oneself, particularly in living in a rural area now that prides itself on the predictable. But this friend was, once again, a beautiful reminder that when you exude welcoming energy around you, people are more open to being themselves too.
Photography seems like even more so a window into that feeling. It invites without ever telling you directly what it may be about. And while as a writer I like to fill the space with a train of thoughts, photography has been an exercise in impression when we give the space for others to lead their own feelings into the space.
So as I two-fisted it so Tom could take my photo with my photo, I couldn’t help but laugh in the absurdity of ego and the desire for recognition. After all, I’m an American who has been taught that your achievements are the mark of your character, but I also am a human who needs connection to survive. Photography is my newest connection, and while I didn’t win anything at the competition, I still can say that my photo of Tom standing up on a hill in Bannockburn was my first debut in an exhibition.
It was one of our first big excursions with our cameras, it was terribly hot, but I remember smiling all day. Because we were embarking on our own new beginning. Walking around the exhibition felt like another part of the beginning. Something unfolding where I have yet to discover where it leads, but I’m here for the ride.
If you happen to find yourself in the Otago region, the Tūhura Photography Exhibition runs until September 3rd where you can see an array of perspective on nature and our relationship to it.
