The mountains won’t remember me

By Timothy Glenn Palacio
Contributor

THE easiest thing to take for granted is the people and places that you see every day. And that’s why I love taking photographs of places and the people in them. You create a sense of immortality to the moment when all the noise fades away and you end with pure, unadulterated beauty. There’s something in these places, the water, the air, the moments that remind me why I’m here, and why I’m alive.

It’s easy to go through life overlooking things. Forgetting to take a step back and remind yourself how far you’ve come. Wherever you are now, chances are, it’s not a place you could’ve imagined even just a year before. If the little bit of success has taught me something, it’s to hold on to the things you love even closer. You just have to constantly remind yourself that you already have the things that matter: family, friends, and the opportunity to become better.

It’s hard to have perspective, to be humble, and to be honest about what we’ve accomplished. The world and social media are often built on jealousy, on seeing what someone else is or has done and feeling left out or less than them. The internet is fueled by narcissism and the fear of being left out often takes the reins and pulls us to do things without thinking.

Ten years have passed in a blink of an eye. Projects, people, gear, and moments have passed on. Some have made their marks in their different crafts while others chose to pursue a different passion. That’s when I realized the power of a photograph, it is what makes one immortal in the most basic of a sense. May it be in the form of a landscape, a street, a person, or a moment, a photograph will keep that in its frame and freeze it entirely.

Some will see that photography is another means to put food on the table, and I respect that, that has always been the goal. But those who see the craft as something more than just a cash cow or a means to gratify one’s indulgences, are the select few that truly understand how a magical box can turn moments into forever.

I’ve learned it the hard way, but I must photograph not only for the client but also for ourselves. To make memoirs of what is, what was, and what always will be. And so we do what we must do, to see those fleeting moments and show our vision to the world, that in turn, we may find the means to justify our existence and make others remember that we only have one world and let’s take care of it. That’s the beauty of the art, but the mountains won’t remember me, it remembers kindness.

Happy 2023 and may we all find our path.