dharamsala RED

Sitting in a small Tibetan cafe in Dharamsala, India (home of the Dalai Lama's government in exhile), I chatted up with a young Tibetan monk over chai. He asked, "How do you know what to take a photo of, and what not?.. How do you know when there is something worth taking a photo of?..." I told him that everywhere you look there are images worth saving. You just have to pay attention. To illustrate the point I leaned back and pointed my camera out the window of our cafe booth and said, "See that window across the alley? I think even THAT would make a nice image. Especially for those who aren't here."

I snapped this and showed it to him. He asked, "A window? I see that every day. It doesn't look that interesting to me." I thought a minute wondering if perhaps I'd picked a poor subject to make the point.. then answered... "To you and me this window is just part of our everyday background, but when I get home I'll see this image and be instantly transported back to this cafe and will see your face in my mind's eye.. and remember our lovely conversation... Someone else will see this image and see something completely different. That's what I try to do." He smiled, looked at the window again, nodded, and then finished his chai.


"dharamsala RED" ~ Dharamsala, India © 2010 Skip Hunt