The saying goes ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.’

But is that really true?

A photograph is a moment of time captured. It is a person’s perspective of what they see or have experienced.

Photography has always been part of my life. Dad was an enthusiastic amateur and it has rubbed off on me.

My cupboards bulge with photo albums chronicling my younger years. Each photo annotated in my handwriting.

With the dawn of digital photography, my albums became computerised neatly placed in folders. They bring me joy reminding me of forgotten memories, places I visited and a frightening array of hairstyles I tried!

At the beginning of the year I found Instagram. Late to the table I know.  The photo sharing site bursts with colour, diversity and some stunning (and some not so stunning) pictures. I was immediately hooked and inspired. I take my iPhone everywhere and have a new Panasonic DMC-FZ330 to get to know, so am awash with images to upload.

Autumn of 2018 and I scrolled back through my Instagram account to be presented with the previous ten months laid out before me. The funny, the mundane and the special moments all there in pictorial form.

With that the idea of keeping a photographic journal rather than a written one was born. A daily image to encompass me on that day reflecting one or all my:

• Emotions.
• Experiences.
• Five senses.
• Memories.

So then, returning to my initial question, is a picture worth a thousand words? All I can say is, to me this photo speaks volumes about Mum. Through it I see the rings on her hand and can smell wafts of her beloved Eau De Cologne.  You on the other hand may only see a tonal composition with the aperture played with.

I guess the answer is the extent to which a picture speaks, depends on who is interpreting the scene.

Come and join me with my journal project on Instagram, and let me know about the image that speaks volumes to you?