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“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” – Albert Einstein

If “film is truth 24 times a second”, a photograph is simulation at whatever shutter speed.  It is only recently that I started using photography as an artistic medium, but always took photographs to capture moments from life.  Never for any assignment or need for simulation.  Just tried capturing what I could while playing a part in the situation one way or other.  It wasn’t until recently however that I noticed the stories that spun around these captured moments, could be woven into a narrative.  ‘please don’t burst my bubble’ while captured on a sunny day in Central Park, evolved into a personal narrative upon revisiting.  This, in turn spun a story of its own with ‘say something’.  In fact photographs are an effective tool to create a “reality distortion field” to put it in the words of Steve Jobs.

Now what is a “reality distortion field”? It defines who you are, your abilities, limitations, strengths, weaknesses, and on and on. This is the reality you project to the world about yourself. And that perceived reality becomes actual reality. You believe it. Others believe it. And when you get down to it, that’s all that’s required for reality: that we all believe it.

The same applies to the event when these tweens find a turtle in a marsh, the joy and collective involvement of the moment and the realization of the ephemeral nature of it reignited the desire to relive these moments, and that’s when they became a story.  What is so exciting about “reality distortion field” is that our beliefs about ourselves are self-fulfilling prophecies.  it can be changed.   Believing in these moments can instill more of such pure moments spawning an authentic reality!