Corey Bridges

Student at Idaho State University

Photography captures light. Photographs see the light bouncing off of objects and show us the color in that light. In an instant of time the light streaming past us at 186,000 miles a second is captured and held still, forever depicting a single moment in time. They can show us what we otherwise wouldn't be able to see, an instant that passes by so fast we couldn't possibly have noticed it. In that instant something so incredibly beautiful is happening and we might miss it. A camera can hold that instant still and allow us to see a moment. With photography time can be held still and shown to the eyes of us humans, who see so little of what is happening around us. A single ray of light can be etched into our memory, forever a part of who we are.

It is this power of photography that draws me to it - the ability to show people what they can't see otherwise. If photography has so much power, then that power should be learned. Once learned it should be used carefully. I have taken many courses in photography in my time as a student and I have come to respect the power of the camera all the more. Not only can photography be used to show beauty but to document events - not just by showing what physically happened but by showing what was felt. The power to evoke emotion is the power to change minds. It is a power that can change whole attitudes about the modern-day slave trade, and can therefore change the course of the abolition.