A renowned photographer’s view through an optimistic lens.
Story by Annabelle Klachefsky
Photos provided by Dewitt Jones
Every day, people are presented with unfortunate news, sights, events, and opinions, making the blissful aspects of life oftentimes feel out of reach. But instead of focusing on the negative parts of life, what if we concentrated on the illustrious and bountiful splendors of the world? What would the world look like if everybody celebrated what was going right instead of what was going wrong? Dewitt Jones, a world-renowned photographer and avid supporter of this approach on life, shares his inspiration with others through his project, “Celebrate What’s Right with the World.”
Jones, who worked with National Geographic for over twenty years, is an accomplished photojournalist and motivational keynote speaker. His work provides inspiration for those who want to incorporate the same optimism into their own work.
On his National Geographic assignments, Jones was told to get out there and celebrate what was right with the world. Jones interpreted this to mean finding the beauty in life that should not be overlooked, but rather, be brought to light and celebrated. After practicing and adhering to this mantra for a number of years, Jones decided that this philosophy should be shared with others, and thus, “Celebrate What’s Right with the World” was born.
Once a week, Jones posts a photograph of something that inspires and reminds him of his gratitude for the world around him. Through his celebration of life and everything in it, Jones has inadvertently created a movement that is now spreading like wildfire. Fourteen thousand people already receive his photographs via social media networks, and are encouraged to pursue their own personal ways of celebrating and appreciating life. Whether it is through photography, music, writing, or working with others, each individual has the capability to move others to do the same, paralleling the idea of “paying it forward.” And hopefully, in accordance to Jones’ principle, one person’s excitement and energy on the copious amount of wonder in the world will become contagious and positive feelings will spread.
Dewitt, how and when did this project come to you?
The title originally came from National Geographic. They would tell me on assignments to take time to celebrate what was beautiful, and the more I thought about it, the more I lived it, and the more I knew I had to practice it. Now that I’m semi-retired, I have a little more time to play with the idea. The idea to share my photos came about fairly recently, in the last year or so. I started with no mailing list and now it’s almost 14,000, so people seem to think it’s a good idea. I really didn’t try to make an effort to get this out to people until recently, but it has been in my speeches and videos for a while. It makes me look at life in a different light. I’m not trying to sell anything, just get people to say, ‘How good is this?!’ Now I want to make a website about it, which will help people get into it too.
How do you think photos portray your idea for this project better than other forms of journalism?
I’m not sure that they do. People can do all sorts of forms of journalism that would be great as well. For me, I’ve taken a lot of pictures of what is beautiful in the world—from the big to the small, Yosemite to clothespins on a clothesline. It’s just opening yourself up to the beauty surrounding you.
Landscapes, flowers, animals, people. I can do that with my camera so I can show people what they don’t usually see and when you look at it, think about celebrating what’s right with the world. It’s not only photographs. There are lots of ways to celebrate, this is just my way but everybody could do their own.
How is this project different from your other photography work?
Well, in terms of the basic photography it’s not different. I’ve always taken pictures of things that I love. Most of my time is as a nature photographer. It’s more a question of what I’m trying to do with those photographs and the intentions behind them. They are not just for a gallery or for your wall. I’m using those pictures to help somebody see something in a different way. If I was just trying to make money I’d do something different. It is not about monetary gain whatsoever.
What is the goal, in your eyes, of being part of this social idea? Why do you think it is good for people to know about ‘Celebrate What’s Right with the World?’
I think that our country is very polarized right now. One of the major culprits of that is easy access to media, and it gets people excited. The media makes everything into a crisis, into something where people either win or lose. My feeling is we should spend more of our lives in cooperation than competition. We talk about winners and losers all the time, but if we stop and look at it, life is more about cooperation. Most of our pain is self-made.
I don’t have a specific goal, but if people feel a little better about their lives and put out goodness instead of darkness, then it will help change the world, though I’m not trying to be a messiah about this, I’m just doing what I feel is good and if people agree, then great! I don’t know what the world needs; it’s just my contribution. That’s how I’d like people to do it, in their own positive way. It’s not a religion or a right path, it’s my path, and people seem to resonate with it so I will share what I can with them.
What do you suggest people do to see the world in a more positive way?
If they think about stopping for a minute, and celebrating what is right in their life, what’s right in their day, that will help a lot. If you consider how great it is to hear, to see, to touch, to smell, you can see that there are a lot of things you can do if you just slow down and recognize what you can be grateful for. It’s hard to be fearful and pissed off when you’re in gratitude. We get to live, that’s pretty cool. Start there and expand out. Over time, that attitude will help change the way you look at life.
To view Jones’ photographs and to learn more about his philosophy, visit http://blog.celebratewhatsright.com.

Gallery • 4 Photos

The Right Side of Life