As a documentarian and an artist I must always be prepared, ready for anything, on my tiptoes at all times as the differentiators between these types of moments are often impossible to distinguish in the heat of the action.
This is what I do. I wait, try my best to react, then wait some more hoping that something amazing wasn’t missed. Repeat. When it comes down to the selection and its critical order, the wondrous dance of myriad choices comes into play and I can oftentimes spend more time deciding which shots to keep and which ones to put aside than I did in the actual process of taking them in the first place. Often, I am pressed for time and through my attachment to them and the overt fatigue present at this stage of the final sprint, I basically have to flip a coin to choose which one makes it to press and which doesn’t. Often photos that I really loved are put aside, photos that mean a lot to me; this small collection is evidence of this. Photos that once looked at again, those left aside on the cutting room floor now still contain precious moments more than worthy of publication. Perhaps an instant before or after the “featured shot”, or a unique moment simply cut for space’s sake or even by mistake, they contain subtle differences and unique characteristics that have great power and ultimately change the photo, the event, and even the photographer’s meaning completely.
So, in the spirit of looking at things again, as was done with famous pressings of Jazz records in the past, I dig through my collection of B Sides & Rarities from this past Kagyu Monlam in Bodh Gaya. Like previously unreleased music I feel that I am able to relive and refresh my fading memories of this great event. An event so full of wonder, grand historical significance, and chock full of friends and celebration, leaving us all with deep lingering feelings of joy and camaraderie. I can only speak for myself, but peering back through these photos certainly leaves me with only strong impressions and fond memories, much like discovering a lost take of your favorite song, whose familiar melody is now somehow reinvented and new. Take a look for yourself, perhaps you’ll find that some of these may well become more treasured than those that made the first cut. If not, then I invite you to simply look back on this wonderful time spent together with a fond heart and cherished sentiments - to relive it again, for this was a magic time in all our lives. This most certainly merits a second look.
Karmapa Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche His Eminence Beru Khyentse Rinpoche Lama Ole Nydahl
