From years and years of trying to participate in every activity in high school, photography is what I enjoy the most and yet it has a tremendous impact on me since then. I started to notice that photography actually benefit me in a lot of ways when I look back at the picture I have taken. So I thought it would be a great idea to share my experience with photography. In this article, I will give you an idea of how photography can benefit you through some of my pictures.
Relieve Stress
We all stress from time to time whether from work or school. Going out and take pictures will take you out of that cloudy mind as it gives you an opportunity to do something else. Take a slow walk outside and observe things around you helps to calm and clear your mind because you will get to see nature and breath fresh air.
(This is the photo that i took at the very first day as an exchange student in USA. It was nice to just forget about the fear of being away from home and thinking only about taking pictures.)
Photography makes you connect with people and nature
In 2014, I had 6 months holiday before going to a college and as you would expect, staying at home for 24 weeks is the worst. I couldn’t stand to wastes my time at home so I planned a photography trip for myself. It was not really a well-planned trip, more of like a “wandering around outside the house”. By just walking around and taking pictures, I felt so calm and happy. I made a couple friends along the way, dogs and cats, who I don’t normally play with. I saw mountains just outside of my house which I have lived for so many years but I have never taken a picture of it. I observe so many things in which I have never noticed before. Sometimes going out and take pictures can connect you with people and places. For example, I observed the feeling and relationships between people.
(I volunteer as a photographer for a color run event.)
Photography can preserve and create memory
I believe that human’s brain are not capable of memorizing everything clearly. Even the best memory of our lives or the moment we are having a blast, it sometimes fades away. We try to close our eyes and draw a picture in our head of those memories, yes we know what happen ,we know when it was, but we do not get to feel the exact feeling we had in those beautiful moments. From my experience, every time I look back at pictures I have taken, I can feel the vibe, happiness, joy, confusion or even sadness of those times. I will automatically recall an event before or after that picture. This helps me to expand my memory of that particular event. Sometimes, I even notice something that I missed or take for granted when I take a picture. The photograph is like a time-freezing machine. No matter how much you have changed or how many people you have met or lose. It is still a fact that once you were there, you are that person, you felt good with that person even now you might don’t talk any more. No matter how much things change but memories don't. This is one of the best benefits of photography and I encourage you to keep preserve and making memories.
(Whenever i look at this picture, i can feel the exact feeling of me in that moment. I was so happy that the sun finally rose,because it was a long hours of waiting for a bus while the weather is freezing outside.)
