Patrick O'Connor Photography

Although weddings are rarely to be done CHECK out my life mission forming over on this page! Comment, like, SHARE, enjoy the pictures and stories!

The last few years have seen the direction of my photography change directions, and as of now I will be retiring this page. I am posting all my travel experiences and images on my BRAND NEW Facebook page you can find here > Co_Mission: Find Your Journey... I hope to see you there, and feel more than free to comment, SHARE, like and FOLLOW me if you want to keep up with what my camera finds for me in the world out there! Thank you!

First time in a . Religious sites around the world offer perspective and an experience not found elsewhere. I am not Muslim but find value in their rituals and beliefs. I am not Jewish but respect and understand their way of living. I am not of any faith but hope to find faith in some part of life and until then, I’ll respect and learn about them all. #mosque #india #agra #washingfeet #reverence #dailyprayer

Travel is a world wide experience to be sure. We are gifted with an astounding world presenting itself before us, and more than any time in history we can reach out and touch, taste, see, and feel what is out here. It is a healthy activity that has been corrupted. We don’t experience, choosing to remain filtered from reality by cameras, cell phones, and the many constructs of our modern lifestyle. It is so extreme that many people don’t truly have memories of their trips bec...ause the process of memory creation and storage is being so mutated and altered by our way of life that they never actually go with us when we leave a place. The bright and glittery worlds we imagine from pictures and videos before we journey out are just the gems in the rough. The world is harsh, cruel, and a stark contrast from our preconcieved constructs of what should be here. Yet we keep going, we hunt for excitement, for splendid scenes and delicious food; some of us even attempt to connect with the people and places we are traveling through. The sad truth is our blindness to reality is so subconsiously operating that we don’t even notice the extent of our ignorance. My daily meditation in action is to see what others fail to see, and what I also gloss over unless I keep myself groudned, aware, and free from distraction. These images are a representation of one way to see the world. It may disagree with what you know of the Taj Mahal, but its important to excercise empathy with those we see along the way, and know what really happens in these hollowed grounds that travel shows don’t often show. The first image is one of the most famous scenes in this world, and has been for hundreds of years. The Golden Gate Bridge, Eiffel Tower, and Sydney Opera house may not be around for as much of history as the Taj. This building has an incredible history, the story of love and loss, and how to charish what we have in this life while it is around and after it passes. Agra, the city it is surrounded by, is storied and steeped in religion, science, and politics for thousands of years. But this image is only the start, and the remaining frames are what I choose to remember this place by.....

The reality for all those that live near here is that their life depends on our money, and in some ways they are forced to sell out due to our blindness and desire to see the next amazing moment and basically plunder the worlds offerings without participation. These ladies were hidden in the bushes just around the corner from the sunset on the Taj Mahal, and spent the next twenty minutes counting out every coin and bill they had managed to earn in the day. #poor #resourceful #reality #turnaroudn #whatsbehindthebeauty