Reflections and Realizations

I took a brief leave from focusing on creating new content for the last 2 months to take some much needed time for self care and self reflection regarding the point I've reached in my life when it comes to my work as a photographer. During this period of soul searching, I had the opportunity to make a quick trip to Kamloops to reconnect with a close friend and mentor who has been a significant presence and inspiration in my life journey over the last 2 years. The purpose of this trip was to speak with group of youth from Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation about my journey becoming an Indigenous photographer. The initial goal of this trip and experience was to inspire and show the youth that I spoke with that photography could be used as an outlet for creative & artistic expression. I ended up being the one inspired and absolutely blown away by this small group of youth’s talent creativity and understanding portrayed in their own work. This trip really was a blessing in disguise and a truly life affirming experience because it opened my eyes and has allowed me to come to my own self realizations of what my work means to me as an Indigenous photographer.

For some time now, its felt as though I have been stuck in a rut, I had no passion or motivation to compose new content and imagery, no matter how much I actively tried, I felt so lost & confused, unable to connect personally with my work and questioned myself more often than I would care to admit.

After all of this soul searching, one of the biggest realizations I’ve come to is that no matter what kind of place I am in mentally, when it come to down to my work as an indigenous photographer, my art will always be a part of me nonetheless of how disconnected I may feel from it at times. I continuously find myself framing and picturing images in my mind wherever I go as I go about my day and it's something that has become a second nature to me. Photography has always been a huge part of my life for a number of years through some of my highest and lowest points and each of those times, I’ve had my camera by my side to document it all. Photography has and always be a part of my identity throughout my life journey. My mom always told me that I bring things to life through my imagery and her words have always stuck with me since then as she has always been one of the main sources of my inspiration and support. The camera pictured above is my first digital camera which played such an integral part in my journey into photography, it also carries personal sentimental value to me because my mom was by my side when I purchased it.