The Light That Finds Us

For a few years I have wanted to provide context and background to my images, so I am starting this series called "Writing With Light"

If you didn't know, the literal root of the word photography which comes from the Greek: photos (light) and graphe (drawing or writing)

The image I want to share about today I can honestly say is one of my top 10 all time images, I call it "The Light That Finds Us"

I didn’t plan to take this photo. That’s the thing about moments that matter. They come when you don't expect it.

It was taken in a remote village in India, inside this village there was an organization that would help feed those in need from the village but also had in its compound what is often referred to as a "leper colony" . This was where I would be staying for a few days as part of my journey around India.

This place was very remote and after many planes, tuk tuks and automobiles, we arrived. No fanfare. No audience. Just sunbaked earth, timeworn structures, and the people who live there.

After exploring the village for a few days I had the opportunity to attend a service, I sat up front in a small Chapel with about a dozen people from the community. They sang, worshiped and I was immersed in this moment.

This women, which can be seen in the image above immediately grabbed my attention, I literally, like I often do, saw the image even before I picked up my camera, I had to grab this moment.

She sat on the ground wrapped in a blue floral sari, her hands folded in prayer, eyes closed. A Bible rested in her lap. The light soft and golden came in through the space where a door once stood and landed on her like a quiet blessing.

She didn’t move. She wasn’t posing. She didn’t know or care that I was there. She was in communion with God, and that was enough.

I stood there for a moment. Then quietly raised the camera and took the shot.

One frame. That was it.

And in that single frame, I saw what words could not capture. A woman who had been pushed to the margins. A woman marked by hardship, rejection, and isolation. Yet there she was. Radiating peace. Rooted. Present.

This is why I photograph. Not for applause or portfolio pieces. But for this. For the chance to make someone seen who might otherwise go unseen.

She wasn’t trying to be seen. That’s what made it a special moment, an moment of truth. There was no performance. No mask. Just a real person in a real moment and a sliver of light that made it visible.

Photography can sell things. It can promote and entertain. But at its best, it invites us to look again. Not just at a scene, but at a soul.

How many people walk through life unseen. Unacknowledged. Unnoticed. It happens everywhere. Cities, villages, homes. You don’t need a remote location to feel invisible.

This photo reminds me to slow down and pay attention. Not just through a lens but in daily life. The light has a way of finding those we overlook. And sometimes, if we are awake to it, we get to play a small part in that.

This image didn’t just give me a story to tell. It gave me a posture to carry forward. One of humility. One that says look closer. Someone is here. Someone matters.

Not a project. Not a symbol. A person.

Here is a teaser.......

One of the most powerful images from the trip is the one I never took. I'll talk about this in a later edition :-) more to come.

If you’d like to see the full series from India, you can check out the collection by going to the projects page.