NPR readers rejoice World Photography Day with tales behind their favourite pictures

Every yr on Aug. 19, World Photography Day celebrates the artwork, science and historical past behind footage. The day was first recognized in 1991 to commemorate the invention of the daguerreotype, a photographic course of developed in 1837.

Since then, pictures have developed. They are used to doc massive moments of historical past, seize private, on a regular basis moments and every part in between. To rejoice today, NPR requested readers and listeners to share the story behind their favourite picture they’ve ever taken. Over 700 individuals replied with wonderful footage connected. From newbie photographers to those that have been pointing their lenses for years, readers and listeners offered their feelings, ideas and particulars behind pictures from nature, household and adventures.

Here’s what a few of them needed to say

Responses have been edited for size and readability. This story shall be up to date with further entries. 

About the individuals

It is not any shock to Mike Sizemore that it’s sizzling in Pyongyang, North Korea, in August. One afternoon, the 44-year-old from Charleston, W.Va., and his guides stood on the finish of Kim II Sung Square, hoping for a breeze as they watched a whole bunch of schoolchildren observe for an Independence Day celebration later that month. The children took a fast break. Everything was quiet for a second, then two ladies leaped to their toes and began chasing each other round, laughing and shouting. Many years later, Sizemore nonetheless typically thinks about them and hopes their spirits stay unbroken. “Wherever you go, it’s people. It’s always about the people,” Sizemore stated. “Among the photos I’ve taken, my favorites are of individuals just getting through the day.”

Photos in nature

After starting a birding journey, 21-year-old Spencer Henderson slowly satisfied his associates to affix him in his passion. It was going based on plan till his girlfriend noticed a Canada Goose earlier than he did. Then everybody who began this new passion noticed the chicken besides him. After looking for what felt like ages for the goose, he discovered greater than 20 of them sooner or later on the path. “I was so relieved and ended up getting my favorite photo that I have taken,” Henderson stated. This picture is his favourite as a result of it reveals that onerous work pays off.

Every day, 67-year-old Keri Olson of Baraboo, Wis., takes two-hour walks, pulling out her cellphone and snapping footage of the surroundings that offers her pleasure. The exercise helps quiet her thoughts, permitting her to be current within the second, which is how she caught this glimpse of a squirrel watching her from a gap in a tree. They each stood fully nonetheless for a number of minutes, finding out one another. “It was a sacred, fleeting moment of connection,” Olson stated.

This story is edited by Suzanne Nuyen.

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