I’m not a professional photographer, and I’ve never had formal training. Photography, to me, isn’t a skill, it’s a state of mind.

Walking along, I slowly realized that the most magical thing about a traditional camera isn’t the image it produces, but how it behaves like a mirror.

Everything I’ve read, every path I’ve contemplated, every attachment I’ve let go of, every emotion I’ve survived, they all quietly reflect back at me through that small frame in the viewfinder.

I used to press the shutter to record. Now I press it to see.

To see how light settles into the world. To notice where my eyes instinctively want to rest. To recognize what kind of inner weather led me to choose that moment.

Only after shooting do I understand this: taste isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something life teaches you.

Every press of the shutter feels like a quiet acknowledgement to myself: I understand the world a little more than I did before.



—— XC Scribbles · 拾陸 XVI 🎞