You are therefore I am
“Portrait”: Gregory Fucking Heisler
Shot on: @nikonusa
I met him in a non-major photography course—
just something I took
before I knew it would change everything.
I didn’t know how to believe in myself.
So he did it for me.
Not loudly.
Not in ways the world could see.
Just in small, quiet moments—
when I doubted,
when I hesitated,
when I almost stopped.
He would look at me like there was something there.
Something worth waiting for.
Something I could not yet see.
He taught me everything about photography—
not just how to use light,
but how to stay with it,
how to trust it,
how to listen.
So I kept going.
Not because I was sure—
but because he was.
I did not photograph him.
I tried to remember
what it felt like
to be seen like that.
And maybe this is all I can say—
Some people don’t just teach you how to make images.
They hold a light for you
until you learn
how to hold it yourself.
And I think…
a part of me is still walking
toward that light he saw.
