Visions for 2009

No marks for originality here.  This is a headline that you will have seen countless times over the last few days.  I'm always struck by the nature of our 'visions' - my own are usually tortuous descriptions, inarticulate mumblings or over-ambitious declarations.  Nothing very visual; words, in fact.  And even the most skilled writers will admit that there are fundamental limits to language and that what we can say doesn't necessarily reflect what we know or can do.  

Meanwhile... I have been impressed by David Alan Harvey's Vision for 2009 at Burn an online magazine dedicated to encouraging and supporting emerging photographers.  David's vision is to offer $10,000 to sponsor a particular body of work by an aspiring photographer.  Burn is a spinoff from David's 'Road Trips' blog and he brings his photographers and colleagues with him.  Some of my favourites are Patricia Lay-Dorsey's 'Falling' photo essay and Anton Kusters' 'Sugar.' Both fall into the space where the emotional pull of the imagery is much bigger than anything we might try to describe in words.