The search for light like shadows dancing on water

Text & Photographs by Ian-Alexander Bell

Sometimes an everyday object can become our greatest teacher or the next step on our spiritual journey. I certainly never thought that my new digital camera would open a window to my perception of the world, sense of aesthetics and at times maddening perfectionism. The journey began when I discovered that photography translates from Greek as drawing with light. It was such an inspiring thought, that the next weeks were filled with my search for the light in the outside world. Sometimes it would be the way the light would illuminate a face or a religious object. At other times it was working with the quality of light and what it did to the world around me. With each shot, I slowly realised that photography was teaching me more. I would show colleagues my photographs or send them home to friends and family to give them a glimpse of the life I was leading. Eventually, I realised that there were certain similarities in the pictures I took.

Illustrating the playfulness of light was the first. But with light, colour and contrast, the stronger the better! In fact, at one point I got so caught up in finding strong colours and contrasts, that I had to stop and ask myself if I was actually seeing the world as it was, or as I wanted it to be. I decided to expand my limitations and try old-fashioned black and white photography, but just couldn’t get into it. Colour it is.

Next came movement. I loved photographing the rumbling prayer wheels and fluttering flags, wondering if I would ever be able to capture the sense that they spoke a language of their own, far beyond the words that were printed on them. Photographing people puts me in a dilemma as I still find myself confronted with the decision of whether to ask or not to ask. To ask means they pose and you lose the initial inspiration of their natural beauty and inner light. Not to ask is a direct invasion of their privacy and in a sense, a non-recognition of their humanness. Is it enough to ask and thank the person in spirit, or is a stronger, longer zoom lens the answer? I still feel guilty if I take a picture unbeknownst to the person.

With each new lesson, photography has taken me on an exploration of the world around me and of myself. It has taught me how I judge the world I live in, what I consider beautiful, inspiring or nice. It has also confronted my creativeness and stubborn refusal to admit defeat. Do the wonders of the world defy being captured on a small man-made plastic card?

At this point photography has taken on a new rhythm as the learning becomes more conscious. It’s not only about finding the interaction of light in the world but has instead become a journey of recognising the light within the world – the inner silence and wisdom of a snow-dusted mountain, a dancer who is immersed in his own secret rhythm or a child finding the world in a game.