Self Portrait, 2021

My Belief

The story goes that members of some early cultures would not allow their picture to be taken for fear that cameras steal the soul of the person photographed. Modern thinking says that we're above such superstitions, but please, humor me. Consider that there is truth in the idea that cameras steal souls.

Have you ever felt moved by a photograph? That is to say, have you ever viewed an image of someone, whether you knew the person or not, and felt an emotional connection? Cheesy? I know. However, I'm sure that at least once in your life, you've seen an image of a person and you were able to empathize with what that person was feeling in the moment the photograph was taken. That feeling may have been joy, sadness, anger, or maybe even pain; and you felt it. That's something, right? I'm reminding you of that connection to say: Yes, cameras do steal souls; They steal them, and in the right hands these souls are refined into something more. They're the images that speak to us. They become the images that we connect to. That connection is possible, it exists, because there's a bit of soul in each photograph.

Warmly,
Drake Masters