This Is Why

Recently someone asked me what it is about photography that interest me so much. At that moment I didn't know how to reply. I gave them a very generic drawn out answer on the spot, most likely leaving them with regret for having asked me the question int he first place. Since then I've really contemplated the question, and even though I knew the answer, I realized it's much harder to explain than I thought.

Why do I love photography?

Remembering the details...

Think about any random day. You woke up, some things happened, and then you went to sleep just to repeat the cycle. Now apply this to your entire life. You are born, some things happen, and then you die. It's in that small frame of time where "things happen" that really matters. As time goes on we accumlate memories. Like dreams, memories can be difficult to recall as time passes on. Maybe you used to be able to remember your first real kiss as if it was yesterday but flash forward a handful of years and suddenly you realize the details have slipped your mind such as the song that was playing, the way the other person smelled, or the way it made you feel, all lost in your subconscious where you can no longer retrieve them. That's how life works. These experiences help shape the people that we become but unfortunately we lack the capacity to consciously store all these moments.

By now you probably know where I'm going with this. The reason I am drawn to photography is because it gives me the ability to not only capture a single moment of life, but I am able to capture it exactly the way I see it. It's not from anyone's perspective but mine. This gives me the chance to share with others how I experience the world and people around me. I also enjoy editing photos just as much as I do the process of taking them. It gives me that much more ability to manipulate the shot, so in the end it represents exactly what I want it to represent. However, many times while editing I will find that the true potential of the shot was something much different than I thought going into it. I'm never stubborn with photography. If the picture decides it wants to be something different than what I wanted it to be, I let it.

I fear I would have forgotten about this moment had I not taken the picture...

Before.

After.

I always hesitate to say yes when someone asks me if I'm a photographer. It feels like the term comes with an identity that I don't want to be associated with. Someone that has thousands of dollars of equipment, and treats people like they are lucky to spend 5 minutes with them and their camera. What makes a photographer anyways? Is it just anyone who owns a camera? Do you have to understand every technical aspect of film, processing, and development? Must you have a degree in photography? I personally believe that being a photographer means you enjoy the experience of using a camera to not just capture a moment, but to do that moment justice. For every photo I share with the world, there are 100 that I don't. I've taken some shots that I was very eager to share, but once I got home, edited the shot and was really able to examine it, I realized that I just didn't get it right. Maybe some moments aren't meant to be captured, maybe a single photo lacks the ability to contain and say everything that we want it to. Then there are those shots that I take on a random whim, shots that seemingly have no significance or interest. After I see them up close, and spend a little time with them I find that they are some of my favorite photos.

I discovered the potential of this shot days after it was taken.

It doesn't always have to look clean.

Experimenting with flash and long exposures.

My approach to photography is far from "professional". In fact it's down right unorthodox. But that's because I am an unorthodox person at times. I have an odd sense of humor, and I give the world the benefit of the doubt.  I know I'm not without faults, and I understand that the rest of the world around me has it's fair share of faults as well. I use that to my advantage. The fact that I am able to express how I see the world around me with a camera brings joy into my life.
I have no interest in changing the way I take photos.

 I'm always amazed when someone says they enjoy my work. It's very rewarding to know that a photo I've taken has had an impact on someone. To know that we share emotion in that single frame of life is worth a lot more than a 1,000 words.

So there is my answer. That is why I enjoy photography so much. It's something that makes me happy, and the best part about it all, is that sometimes my photographs make people around me happy as well. What could be better?