Introduction
There is something quite special about seeing one of your photographs published as part of someone else’s story.
As photographers, we spend a lot of time thinking about the image itself. The light. The moment. The expression. The composition. Whether we caught something that says a little more than simply what was happening in front of the camera.
But sometimes, the photograph leaves us behind – It becomes part of a story that belongs to somebody else.
Story
I recently experienced that feeling when Canberra Daily published a story about the Welling family and their extraordinary challenges and adventures, including their trek to Kokoda and their preparations for Everest Base Camp.
One of my photographs was used as the main image for the story, with another appearing further into the article. Seeing “Photo: Michael Smale” underneath an image is always a nice moment, but the real pleasure comes from seeing the photograph sitting within a much bigger story.
The photograph was no longer simply something sitting in my catalogue. It had a job to do.
It was helping introduce these people to readers who had never met them. It was helping put faces to the words. It became one small piece of a story about determination, family, friendship and pushing beyond the limitations that life can sometimes place in front of us.
And that is one of the things I love about photography.
We often think of a photograph as belonging to the person who takes it, or perhaps the person who is in it. But a good photograph can take on a life of its own. It can become part of a newspaper story, a family memory, a social media post, a graduation album, a wedding album or simply a photograph that someone keeps on their wall.
The photographer captures the moment. The people in the photograph give it meaning.
And sometimes someone else comes along and gives it an entirely new context and that is a pretty satisfying feeling.
Conclusion
For me, this is another reminder of why I don’t think photography is really about taking pictures.
It is about people – It is about moments.
And it is about creating something that can continue to tell a story long after I have pressed the shutter.
Seeing one of my photographs become part of someone else’s story is a small thing in the grand scheme of things, but as a photographer, it means quite a lot!
Here is the story: