I encourage all of you to read and enjoy this story… This was my first time finding light in an event I have always seem to ignore, and fear remembering.
Thanks for your continuous support and encouragement.
Xoxo.
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Scottie Hill
Lang 120
J. Pisano
8 February 2014
Captured
It was August 15, 2005… A typical day in
August, my mom and I were hanging out on the couch, probably watching HGTV, and
my dad was test-driving a new car (at least I think that I recalled that
correctly). It wasn’t too late in the day when my back door neighbor showed up
at our garage door knocking away with her rather frizzy strawberry-blonde hair
pulled back in a ponytail. She has such a bizarre look on her face, so I casually
questioned what was up. She was hesitant at first to be informative. That’s
when all hell broke loose. Hell in the shape of the most climatic part of my
life thus far. Hell in the form of a terrible accident that would forever
change my life. And little did I know that something so wonderful would blossom
from such a traumatic incident. That day, when I found out my brother had been
hit by a car, I realized more intensely, the value of each photograph present.
The worth of words that need not be said, but felt with our eyes. Since that
day in August, I have found myself on a journey that includes capturing the
little moments and sharing my passion of photography with others. The idea that
my photography career is the outcome of such a series of events is crazy, but I
assume life hits us with hardships, and we make masterpieces, we create our
future, and somehow, we manage to fall in complete love with cameras.
After being life-flighted to Chapel
Hill, my brother was in a coma for two weeks. I remember so vividly walking
into this room in the children’s intensive care unit for the first time. Seth
was nearly lifeless. He was hooked to an array of machines; the heart rate
monitor, breathing machine, and two tubes that were draining fluids from around
his brain were terrifying. The right side of his body fell victim to a few
severe breaks. While in a coma, we as a family felt it was of great importance
to document visitors that came daily by taking Polaroid photos of them and adding
each one to a scrapbook we kept at the hospital. The hardships we faced as a
family lead to my desire to photograph the world. It all began with a photo of
our family cat, Lucy—who Seth claimed “followed him home” just a few weeks
before he was in the accident—that we took to Seth’s hospital room and hung for
him to enjoy. To this day, the photo of our cat Lucy hangs on the fridge at
home. Every time I see the picture, I am reminded of where my interested of
photography began, and where I hope for it to go.
As my photography interest
increased, I got my first digital camera. And man was that thing awesome! I
continued shooting animals and nature frequently, and then became more
interested in getting my friends to model for me. Needless to say, by the time
I was in High School, the most expensive material item I owned was my Nikon D40
DSLR Camera that I considered my child and followed along everywhere I went.
Once I was a sophomore in High
School, I began working as a photography assistant for a lady who my mom knew
pretty well. Eventually, she let me be responsible for covering sporting
events, family portraits, and community happenings. I became so intrigued in
how shooting each event worked—each was so different from one another. And the
Friday night-lights of a football stadium were some of the greatest photos I’ve
ever taken. My skill level grew, and my independence followed after I received
my second fancy camera from Santa—a Canon T1i with a 70-200mm lens. My first
senior portrait photography shoot was a fake senior session with my best friend
(the girl who came to the garage door on August 15) who was only fifteen at the
time. Since then, I have been host to many portrait sessions, each one making
me realize the potential of sharing my passion with others.
In
several cases, photography has rescued me. There are times when I have found
myself eager to leave the world we have so graciously been given to dwell in,
and other times I feel that leaving the place and time I’m stuck in would solve
it all. But then, I turn around and take a photograph of the sun, peaking
through the trees, at around five o’clock before time falls back. The
articulate details found in the natural beauty of this world make my eye fall
target to changes, changes to my personal perspectives on who I am, where I am,
and how much energy I can absorb from the moment. That’s another rescuing fact,
the energy of each moment. But we can all face the fact that each moment we
find ourselves in, the now, fades in just a blink of an eye. The savoring idea
of capturing “nows” and keeping them forever make my heart skip a beat. Whether
it be a first day of school, another day at work, or walking down the aisle, the
moments around us are not forever, they are molding as you read my personal
narrative, and the scary fact is that you can never obtain the once reality
again.
While I have not lived a life full
of moments that include being hungry, not having toilet paper, or making sure I
have a big paycheck before buying groceries, I have been a part of a change in
my significant other’s life to insure a difference in the poverty lifestyle
that seemed to consumed each aspect of his living. At first glance, Dakota has
always seemed to be a bright, healthy, and strong young man. He was a great
football player, even better lacrosse player, and has never given me a reason
to not desire him as my better half. However, Dakota worked pay check to pay
check his junior year to afford the necessities of living. Was it by choice?
Absolutely not, but he did it, and I stepped in the minute I knew. This
situation was my first, first-hand experience with poverty, and it finally
helped me to understand the often-misunderstood responsibilities, habits, and
terrifying truths of living in poverty. When my world was flipped by these
discoveries, I began to realize how wonderfully important and life changing
photographs could, and will be, to the individuals who are able to relate to my
first-hand experience.
Annie Leibovitz, an American
portrait photographer, once said, “When I say I want to photograph someone,
what it really means is that’d I’d like to know them. Anyone I know I
photograph.” These words hold true to my
own opinion of photography and the ability, and desire, to share it with
others. My idea to offer photography services to individuals who cannot afford
portraits, or have avoided portraits for other reasons, is a way for me to not
only practice my skills and enjoyment of photographing people, but for me to
make an impact on someone’s life, and actually get to know them.
Throughout my life, I have noticed
that the beauty of this world is too abundant to not capture. Being a young
adult, I have experienced the most climatic event in my life thus far, learned
to love a hobby I have molded as a part of me, and allowed myself to take root
in something I am passionate about. Although I cannot end world starvation
taking photos, or help homeless children find a safe, clean place to live, I
can impact the world from behind a lens, with one shutter.
That was amazing! I was holding back tears while reading.
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