More Photography as a Spiritual Practice

Guest Writer: George Taylor

“Photography for me…It’s a discipline that connects me more closely to the core of the universe and the core of my own being. It opens my eyes and, in doing so, allows my heart and soul to open, as well....

. . . One more realization:

That God gave me photography so that I could pray with my eyes.”

-Dewitt Jones in “Realizations: What is Photography for You?” in Outdoor Photographer, May 2012.

There are two of my photographs that underscore the power of photography to bring clarity to what it means to be human.

The first entitled “Skin Deep” was taken in Mexico City on the 5th of May 2012. While walking close to the central square (The Zocalo) during the Cinco de Mayo celebration, I noticed a woman sitting on the sidewalk wearing a beautifully embroidered skirt. Her traditional sombrero hid her face and upper body from me. When I asked if I could photograph her, she said yes, and asked for a contribution to her work. It was only after I knelt down that I noticed that she had prosthetic arms and that her face had been severely burned. In the background is a poster of a model advertising beauty products that says “Believe in yourself…”.

The contrast between the model’s superficial beauty and that of the woman in the foreground made this special. To me, the power of this photograph is the dignity and the beauty that is possible when you believe a meaningful life is possible!

The second is a photograph of the Milky way rising above the Highland Lighthouse in North Truro in Cape Cod. Being out in the stillness of the dunes of the outer cape at midnight and seeing the deepness of the starscape brought home to me how infinitely small we are in relation to the cosmos, and how special it was that I was alive to witness it!

George Taylor