Talking with Wadih Moussa
Hey my friend! Welcome back to another exciting article from the series Inside the Photo.
As always, thank you so much for being here supporting this newsletter and my blog with your time. I greatly appreciate it.
This time, my guest is a friend I met during my past experience managing (with a bunch of incredible people) an international community of photographers and artists called Pictas.
He’s Wadih, and here’s more about him.
I didn’t set out to be a writer.
Or a photographer.
But the emotions life stirred in me needed somewhere to live, to take shape, to be seen, to be shared.
Over a decade ago, I picked up a camera. At first, it was simply to capture what I saw. Slowly, it became a way to understand what I felt, to process, to witness, and to hold on to moments that might otherwise pass unnoticed.
Photography helped me sit with emotions I hadn’t yet named. It connected me with nature, with others, and with something quiet and steady inside me. What began as a hobby gradually became a source of reflection, healing, creativity, and connection.
Then came writing.
Not to explain, but to explore. To find shape for what often lives wordless. Writing became a way to listen, and to offer what I heard.
My journey has taken me from Lebanon to Greece and eventually to Canada, and those experiences continue to shape the way I see the world. Today, I photograph a wide range of subjects, from landscapes and travel scenes to macro details, black-and-white studies, and aerial perspectives. Regardless of the subject, I am drawn to images that tell a story or invite reflection.
I am also a VERO Ambassador and the author of From War to Creativity: A Journey of Healing Through the Lens and A Traveller in My Own Train.
Whether through photographs or words, my hope is simple: to encourage others to pause, look a little closer, and discover meaning in both the extraordinary and the everyday.
As you can see already from his bio, there’s much more in Wadih’s images or words than just places and people. Everything holds a story. And that story, via an image or a written piece, will convey emotions. The emotions felt by Wadih himself can be translated in those of who look at the images or read the articles. And this is, I believe, the ultimate power of art.
© Wadih Moussa
This photograph was taken in September 2014 along the Icefields Parkway, the highway connecting Banff and Jasper National Parks in the Canadian Rockies.
Unlike many of my photographs, this one was carefully planned. I wanted to create an image that represented a journey, not simply document one. My daughter Agapé became the traveler, carrying a small red suitcase along an empty stretch of road leading toward the mountains.
Finding the location required patience. We searched for a section of highway that offered a clear view in both directions so we could safely see approaching vehicles from far away. Once we found the right spot, we waited for the road to become completely empty before making the photograph.
Every element was intentional. The road represented the path ahead. The mountains symbolized possibility and adventure. The red suitcase represented the memories, experiences, hopes, fears, and dreams we carry with us throughout life.
At the time, I had been practicing photography for less than a year. Looking back, I realize the image became a metaphor for my own journey. What began as a creative idea on a road in the Rockies eventually took on a deeper meaning as photography grew from a hobby into a passion that would shape many aspects of my life.
Of the thousands of photographs I have created since then, this remains one of the most meaningful. For years it was the only photograph displayed as a large print in my home. More than a decade later, it earned a place in my first book, From War to Creativity: A Journey of Healing Through the Lens, where it appears in the chapter “Living Vicariously Through the Lens.”
Today, when I look at this image, I no longer see only a traveler walking toward the mountains. I see the beginning of a journey whose destination I could never have imagined when I pressed the shutter.
The story behind this image is amazing. It’s a great example of how intention and planning leads to a result that perfectly tells the story you have in mind. And, even years later, that story is still full of meanings and can be seen with the same power as when it was taken or even more. This is wonderful.
As usual, I recommend checking out Wadih’s profile and to give him a follow to see his work.
Thanks a lot for being here today, Wadih. Your story and the image are definitely worth sharing!
Take care and talk soon!