I’ve taught many students in Laos including an 18-year-old who wanted to go to US university. His mother paid me $20,000 for 2 months to teach him English and Photography.

I thought that he was then old enough to go on a trip by himself. So, I sent to him to Vang Vieng by himself for 2 days to photograph. This was before the new highway which takes 1hr and a half. At that time, it took four hours through the rugged mountain with endless potholes.

He would have to find lodging and eat by himself. He would have to be responsible for himself. He was an introverted mama’s boy at the time. He hadn’t done something like that all of his life. I thought he needed to be independent.

He came back fine. And I looked at the photos he took…

Wow!

He had taken an unbelievable photo of a man with such Lao dignity!

It’s the man’s face that first comes to you, but look at the background. There are three women.

I immediately saw that he had a unique vision. Because for a beginner, he was different.

I turned it into black & white and I enter the man’s portrait photo in a contest by Lao Airlines. At that time, they were a lot of photography contests and this one seemed big and prestigious enough.

Award ceremony was on a blistering day with rain and harsh wind, but it was at Crown Plaza Hotel, considered the best hotel in Laos. His whole gang of friends and family and his mother were there along with me and my wife. Usually in Laos, they give the grand prize to a Lao, so I didn’t expect for the top prize. But I knew that my boy would get something.

They had announced all the winners and I thought I was wrong. Then, a tall man came out and announced a special award of excellence. My boy’s entry was the only black & white entry in the competition. In Laos, they don’t understand the beauty of b & w. They haven’t got the lesson. All in all, he got the third place out of the competition behind 2 Laos. Unprecedented event. A foreigner winning such a big prize was unheard of at that time. I was so proud of him.

As the lesson went on, he showed immense patience working on Photoshop. He made a poster. That showed me that he had a talent in design not photography. See, photography is decisive moment as Henri Cartier Bresson phrased it. It’s a momentary capture where as design is about thinking for a long time. Not that photography doesn’t require thinking and patience, but the shutter is faster than a blink of an eye. It’s a different medium, different train of a thought.

The boy is 10 years older and wiser now. He thanked me last year for recognizing his talent early on.

He’s working at a design company and photographing again and they look advanced and thoughtful. I’m proud of myself when I encounter such a happening. What I did made a difference in someone else’s life.

Let there be Light.

It’s the first word spoken by God for those who believe in the bible.

Without light, there would be nothing. Without light there wouldn’t be photography because light is essence of photography. You must first learn to read the light meaning how it falls on your subject. Contrast, composition and subject is all you need to know to begin your journey in photography. Simple matter that gets more complicated as you get more passion for it.

This is where someone like me comes in and gives you recognition and direction. It’s not just about photography, but it’s about how you perceive yourself and finding who you are. Photography is a medium that everyone has in their hands now in this high-tech world. It’s taken for granted. It’s in curiosity that will answer your burning desire to know. And to know is the key to in the future.

Photography’s fate depends entirely on science. Biggest camera in the world has 3.2 Gigapixels. My Canon 5D has 22.3 megapixel. That’s all you need in our normal life. You are not analyzing far end of the universe. But, with this fast-developing technology and AI, who knows how taking a picture will change for us.

With AI, best writers can become best producers of photographs writing precise detailed prompts that AI can understand easily. Who knows where AI will go?

But my belief is that Art will eventually be analogue. To create art, there needs a human touch, a singular human touch. That is art.