A Love Letter to Photography on World Photography Day
By John Bulmer, John Bulmer Photography
Life is full of fleeting moments—some slip away, while others stay with us forever. Photography has this incredible ability to capture those moments, freezing them in time. On World Photography Day, I find myself thinking about how photography isn’t just about preserving our personal memories—it’s about shaping how we see the world. It captures our highs, our lows, the progress we’ve made, and the challenges we still face, connecting us to each other in ways that words alone can’t.
The first time I picked up a camera, I felt its magic—the ability to stop time with just a click, turning a moment into a memory that lasts. Some of the most powerful images in history, like the "Tank Man" standing alone against a line of tanks in Tiananmen Square, make us confront the past and remind us of the need to keep pushing for justice. Equally powerful are the photos from the Civil Rights Movement, showing the stark contrast between one group’s halcyon days and another group’s painful reality. Images of young Black students braving hostile crowds as they integrated schools, or protesters facing fire hoses and police dogs, force us to face the harsh truths of our capacity for inhumanity.
Then there are the images of tragedy, like those from 9/11, which remind us of the deep pain that can bind us together in shared grief. Or the heartbreaking photos from humanitarian crises around the world, showing people fleeing war and famine. These images push us to care, to act, and to remember our shared responsibility to help each other. But photography also gives us hope. The sight of soldiers returning from long, hard deployments to the open arms of their families reminds us of the enduring power of love and resilience. These moments of reunion capture the strength of the human spirit, even after the darkest times.
On a more personal level, photography captures the everyday milestones that mean the world to us—like the images of our children’s first days of school, or those Facebook memories that pop up, reminding us just how quickly time moves. These photos urge us to stop and take a look around, to not just observe life, but to truly see it. They remind us that while life moves fast, we can still hold onto the moments that matter.
Some people say that with smartphones and billions of photos being taken every day, photography has lost some of its power. I don’t agree. If anything, it’s made each of us a storyteller, capturing our lives in a way that’s never been possible before. We are now the narrators of our own stories, curating and capturing our lives like never before, and that’s powerful. Every photo we take, whether we share it or keep it to ourselves, adds another layer to our story and to the collective story of humanity. The ubiquitous smartphone camera has also enabled real-time photo content of breaking news and developing stories, allowing us to be better informed instantaneously by citizen journalists.
The photos that mean the most, though, are often the ones we keep tucked away—those personal treasures that anchor us to our past and keep loved ones close, even when they’re gone. Looking at childhood photos, for example, can bring back the simple joys of those days. Photography isn’t just about capturing an image; it’s about holding onto the feelings, the voices, the essence of life in that moment.
In a world that’s always changing, photography is one of the few constants. It’s our way of saying, “I was here. This mattered.” Whether it’s a global event or a quiet, personal moment, photography helps us find meaning and reminds us that we’re all part of something bigger. And while it’s important to live in the moment, it’s also important to capture those moments—so we can look back, remember, and share them with others.
Today, I’m grateful for all the moments I’ve captured, the people I’ve met, the places I’ve been, and the stories I’ve told through my lens. But most of all, I’m thankful for how photography brings us closer—to our past, to each other, and to the world around us. Every photo holds a piece of who we are—our struggles, our joys, our growth. Here’s to photography, the keeper of our memories and the reflection of what it means to be human.
We are all photographers. We are here, and it matters.
All Content © 2024, John Bulmer Photography. All Rights Reserved.
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