Photos that Inspire

Montego Bay, Jamaica

This photo inspires me for a number of reasons. For me, this photograph not only brings back the time that my husband and I spent in Jamaica (getting married!), but it also makes me think about time and space and how infinite it can seem, and also the idea that humans try to conquer as much of that time and space that they possibly can.

This was one of the first photographs that my husband and I took when we arrived in Jamaica. Seeing this photograph brings back the memories of the fresh salty air, the vivid blue ocean, the warm sand and sun, and the feeling of adventure that you get from visiting foreign lands. I can hear the Jamaican dialect, hear “Ya Mon”, and feel alright, alright?

The water is impossibly blue, something that many people do not get to witness firsthand in their lifetimes. It is something out of the ordinary for someone that lives in a city or has never visited the ocean. Yet this ocean is completely different than the one that you encounter on either coast of the United States of America. Here our water is green or brown and murky – not the clearest crystal blue that Jamaica has to offer.

The perspective of the photo makes the world seem infinite. The clouds in the sky seem to trail on forever, as does the ocean. It inspires one to think of how small one human being’s existence is in comparison of the size of the ocean, sky, and world. The perspective of the photograph also makes the very large pier and the heavy equipment in the scene appear tiny. The pier and equipment are not tiny. They are used in the production, manufacture, and distribution of Limestone, of which many people of the island rely. The fact that something so important to the lives of so many people, that if you were standing next to it or on it would seem humougous, seems so tiny can be humbling. It can inspire one to think that humans can try to build something big, but will never achieve anything compared to the structures that are here on this earth.

I do not feel that this is the best photograph that there is; it does not need to be. This photograph brings back so many memories of a beautiful place in which a camera could not possibly imagine capturing. Because of that, this photograph is inspirational. Not only does the photograph do that for me, but it also offers a unique perspective on how we all view the world.