Photography is a way of life, of thinking and an attempt to understand our world. Since Joseph Niepce captured the first photograph in 1826 photographers have been searching their souls to provide a visual tableau of humanity’s beauty, brutality, strength, frailty, struggles and successes. We can all access the recesses of our memories for imagery from our youth. That is the power of photography.
I am fortunate to have been a small part of history as it unfolded its wings and took flight. I have been honored to be at its feet to capture seminal moments in history through the lens of a camera. Be it the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center, the war in Afghanistan or the christening of a child in a little known church in rural USA, these were historically important moments if only for one person or family. Some people have called the ability to take lasting images a gift; some have called it an affliction. All of us know it as a calling that we couldn’t imagine not doing. ---Mark Turney