The Action Shot

Hello World!
I hope this finds you well. Today I will write about the action shot. What is it you ask? As part of WAKE and the #Tech2Empower Rwanda trip, we had to submit a picture of ourselves they called the action shot. This shot should be reflective of ourselves, spark curiosity, and have a bit of a story to it. Some women chose a welcoming picture of themselves with their children, others were bold portraits, others still were quirky images in Bolivian deserts that defied ordinary optics, some highlighted impressive feats of yoga. I chose a picture of myself and famous astrophysicist Dr. Neil De Grass Tyson, in the middle of highlighting each other's space themed outfits. (Another blog entry on the details of that interaction!).

It got me thinking however, about the action shot.

I initially did not think I had very many cool action shots (recent ones anyway). For a long time, I did not have any pictures of myself, and then I realized, I should probably be in the record of my own life. (I now force myself to take photos here and there, trying to appreciate the reality of my world with me in it). I much prefer taking pictures (I have several cameras and several bazillion photos), but pictures do speak 1,000 words, as they say.

What did I want those 1,000 words to be? I admit as the trip grew near, I found myself planning ahead to actions that had not yet happened in anticipation for the action shot that could result. It is an interesting concept that I am still thinking about- what do I want my action shot(s) to be? What do I want the record of my existence to convey?

Fun? Glamour? Academics? Friendship? Community? Education? Engineering? Fashion? A little bit of all of that and more, honestly. I do not know if it is possible, as many people viewing the same image can see many different images out of one. It remains an interesting idea to me though.

In a world where people showcase a perfect image that may or may not be true, where depression rises with screen time, where it is very easy to create a false image of fake fabulousness, what is our authentic action shot?

That is the fun of science, oftentimes, there are more questions than answers!

:)