Representing "The Other"

This is a photo I took a few years ago on a trip to Europe. This particular photo is in London of a guy that started preaching to my friends and I about why we should follow and believe in Jesus. Claiming no position as to whether I agree or disagree with him, but this guy was extremely funny. He was dressed in black spandex with a cape, was overly animated and had many bags and other materials with him. After listening to him preach and sing for about half-n- hour I decided to take this picture with him because I wanted to remember him and the fun he brought to our day.

It’s human nature to want to capture photos of a vacation to have and look back on to remember the fun times. Photos allow to us look back on moments of the past and feel as if we are still there. Seeing a photo can bring back memories of where they photo was taken, what the person was doing at the time and how the person felt when the picture was taken. I have not seen this photo in years, but as soon as I saw it I remembered my friends and I laughing so much that our stomachs started to hurt. I also remember not having a good day until we ran into this guy and then being happy for the rest of the day.

If this guy were to take a photograph of me he might add a cross or some other religious symbol to the photo. He might even go as far as to take the photo in or around a church. If he had to add a caption to the photo it might say ‘Jesus Instead.’ The entire time this guy was speaking to us he said “Jesus Instead” after every sentence, phrase and line in a song.

This exercise will change the way I take travel photographs because instead of my photos focusing on the people I am traveling with and  the scenery of where I am, I will try to focus on the native people of where I am traveling. I had to use a photo from almost three years ago because all my pictures of more recent trips were all of myself or the people I was traveling with. I will also change the way I see “the other.” When traveling I tend to focus on the way I am perceived in different places, but not the way the people are perceived in their home.