Photography and Dialogue - David Labelle

Thanks to a Tweet by @joshdup which I read on the run and has since taken me a while to track down...

"Life will teach you to be a good teacher. If you care, life will show you many, many examples. It will lay all the lessons right before you and all you have to do is bend over and collect these lessons and put them in some order and fashion and you can teach anybody." - Dave LaBelle

Here is a beautiful video by Francis Gardler who interviews photography teacher David Labelle.  Francis does an extraordinary job of portraying how Dave just shows up in the world, develops great relationships and takes amazing pictures.

Dave has undertaken some tough, emotional assignments with great sensitivity.

He says, "There is a point of view... the goal in all of this for us to witness and document relationships..." He claims that words and pictures will have limited effect unless "they are built on a foundation of sincere care."

As he pushes hard on a philosophy of passion, service and respect in photography (and life...) he notes that most of us reach a time in our lives when our eyes are raised and we say, "Life is really not about me."

The film is 17 minutes but is well worth the time - if only to see Dave in action as he brings his philosophy and dialogic viewpoint into the world.

"Basically I do two things; I do humour and compassion."

Dave Labelle