A Journey in Photography

M Mehran

Photography has always been more than a hobby for me. It is a way of seeing the world, of capturing fleeting moments that often go unnoticed. It is a language without words, a medium where silence speaks louder than sound, and light paints stories more vividly than memory ever could.


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The First Camera

I got my first camera when I was sixteen—a simple DSLR, secondhand, with scratches along the body. My parents told me it was “just a toy,” but to me, it was a doorway. I carried it everywhere: crowded streets, empty parks, family gatherings. At first, I took pictures of nothing in particular, snapping at flowers, clouds, and my own reflection in puddles.

But slowly, I began to notice the world differently. Photography forced me to pay attention, to see the ordinary as extraordinary. Shadows became textures, sunlight became poetry, and strangers’ faces told stories I had never noticed.


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Capturing Stories

The first time I truly understood the power of photography was at a local market. People bustled between stalls, haggling over prices, carrying baskets of vegetables and fruits. I lifted my camera and focused on an elderly man with hands worn from decades of labor.

Click.

The photo froze him in a moment I could never have captured with my memory alone—the wrinkles on his face, the intensity in his eyes, the subtle tilt of his head as he weighed a fruit. When I showed the photo to my friends, they were silent. Not because it was perfect, but because it told a story. Photography, I realized, was about revealing what often goes unnoticed.


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The Challenges

Photography is not just about pointing and shooting. It is patience, observation, and risk. I spent hours waiting for sunsets, chasing fleeting shadows, and navigating rain-soaked streets for the perfect frame. Sometimes, the world refused to cooperate: clouds hid the sun, streets emptied, light failed.

Yet, in those moments, I learned something essential: photography is not just about capturing reality—it is about perception. Two photographers can stand in the same spot and see entirely different worlds. The lens, after all, reflects not just the external scene, but the heart and mind of the one behind it.


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Connection Through Images

Photography also connects us to others in ways words cannot. I began taking portraits, capturing people from all walks of life: street performers, vendors, children at play. Each face revealed a unique story, and each photo became a bridge between my vision and their reality.

One day, I photographed a young girl sitting on the steps of her house, her shoes worn, eyes wide with curiosity. She laughed when I showed her the image. For a brief moment, the photo became a shared experience, a memory preserved, a connection forged through light and shadow.


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Photography as Reflection

Over time, I noticed that photography mirrored my own inner world. My early photos were hesitant, timid, safe. As I grew bolder in life, my photos became more daring, experimental, emotional. I learned to use light and composition not just to show what I saw, but what I felt.

A photo of a stormy sky might capture my sense of chaos. A quiet street at dawn could reflect solitude or hope. Photography became a journal of emotions, an external map of my internal landscape.


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The Imperfections

Not every photograph is perfect. Some are blurred, overexposed, or poorly framed. But even in imperfection, there is beauty. Mistakes often reveal truth. A blurry hand reaching out, a shadow cut off unexpectedly, a stray leaf in the frame—all of it can evoke emotion more powerfully than technical perfection.

Photography taught me to embrace imperfection in life as well. Just as a photo can tell a story despite its flaws, we too can grow, evolve, and find meaning even when life doesn’t fit neatly into our expectations.


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A Moment of Recognition

I will never forget the first time someone told me my photo moved them. It was a simple street scene: a man feeding pigeons in a quiet plaza. The composition was ordinary, but something about it captured the simplicity and fragility of everyday life.

“That’s beautiful,” they said. “It makes me feel something I can’t explain.”

In that moment, I realized photography is more than art. It is empathy. It is connection. It is a silent dialogue between the photographer, the subject, and the viewer.


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The Ongoing Journey

Even now, photography continues to teach me. It teaches observation, patience, humility, and wonder. It reminds me that life is fleeting, that moments vanish in an instant, and that memory alone is never enough. Through the lens, I preserve fragments of existence, glimpses of beauty, truth, and impermanence.

Every photo is a story, a memory, a reflection of a moment that will never happen again. And in capturing it, I also capture myself—my attention, my emotion, my perspective. Photography is not just what I see; it is how I see, who I am, and what I choose to remember.


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Closing Reflection

Photography is more than images—it is life paused, felt, and shared. It transforms ordinary moments into lasting impressions, fleeting glances into eternal stories. Every photograph is a conversation, an exploration, a testament to the beauty, complexity, and fragility of existence.

And in every photo I take, I am reminded: life is ephemeral, but moments—captured, preserved, and shared—can last forever.