In my reflection
by Scott C. Park
In certain time and place of our journey, many of us halt and ask ourselves “Where am I and how far have I traveled?” On an unforced and singular road, I have traveled more than half of my life as a photographer. In a word, my life has been blessed. In a deeper sense, my labor has been fruitful and worthwhile for I have faithfully traveled in search of the truth and as a keeper of that truth. At its minimum, after first 10 years of doing the same work, you learn the method of your profession. The next 10 years opens up an opportunity for you to become a so-called expert. I reckon, in the following 10 years, you can achieve a certain hopeful enlightenment.
It has been already 31 years since I began this journey. Since birth, I have been traveling on this predestined road, sharing the time and space with those that I was meant to encounter. Through my vision but more through the passion of my heart, I have captured the moments of my encounters and expressed them on paper. In the process, I have experienced a realization that even in the most desolate, dismal and hopeless situations or persons, there is a hidden fullness of beauty and hope.
In my reflection, I wonder if I have been chasing and searching for this truth all along. Not as a disingenuous impressionist who only fills his stomach and not his heart but as the one who authentically lives in and digests the lives of others, I hope to capture and express their true selves.
The illusory influence of the quantity and the quality of the media has been so powerful that any ordinary expressions fail to stir desired emotions of many observers. In some respect, I may be one of them who had been swept away in that illusion. I feel the need now to step away from that misleading impression of reality. Instead of multitudes of beautiful landscapes and people that are pictured in mass media as seen in calendars and magazines, my desire now is to capture and share the hidden beauty that has been forgotten but has always been present among us. Through its rediscovery, I wish to instill in others a hope that beauty is and will continue to reside near us and in us.
In the end, I hope to deliver images of lasting nostalgia and provoke a sense of deep yearning for happiness and joy. It is my heartfelt desire to take you with me on this journey.