Happy Birthday, Edmund!  Edmund and his wife Angie were volunteers at the Foundation in 2006 – 2007. They are two of the most wonderful and talented people we have ever had with us and it would be impossible to list all the ways they helped us to grow. But today, on Edmund’s birthday, I want to try and do justice to one of them, because it has changed my life forever.

Photography! I am sitting at his feet in this picture as a true disciple should (at least in India!), because he taught me pretty much all I know about taking pictures. Apertures, f-stops, depth of field, low light, composition and how to hold a camera properly were all part of the lessons, but the most essential thing I learned was how to look at what I am photographing. “What are you taking a picture of?” he would ask me over and over again. “What are you trying to say?”

It sounds silly to me now, but these were questions that had never occurred to me in the past. I would see a cute kid or a pretty tree and I would take out my camera and shoot. If anyone had asked me what I was taking a picture of I would have thought he was pretty strange. It was obvious. A cute kid. A pretty tree.

Now I see everything differently. Now I ask the questions myself. I’ve got a long long way to go for the answers, but at least I know now to ask.

Thank you Edmund. Happy birthday, and may you have a long and wonderful life!