Why Do You Make Photographs?
purpose, goal, vision
Why do you make photographs?
Why does anyone make photographs?
What is the point of it all?
Lately, these questions have been aching through my mind.
Photography is one of those things we’re all drawn to but can’t quite put a finger as to why.
For each of us there exists a different answer and for some, multiple answers.
It’s something that intrigues me, and because there’s no deliberate solution it may be one I think about forever.
I believe many enter photography quite innocently.
We pick up a camera or a phone, take a snapshot, and slowly get sucked into a much deeper world.
As we continue to photograph, we begin to realize there’s something quite special going on.
We may be trying to express something different, encapsulate a feeling, or even tell a story.
Each person’s motive is different, but one thing remains the same.
We all feel the compulsion to grab the camera and take a photo.
Lately, I’ve been printing a lot more photos.
It’s an exercise I do to not only satisfy the feeling, but to expand on the craft.
In the process, I’ve thought much about the ideas behind content and photography.
Content and photography are not one and the same.
Content consists of many more random snapshots to post on social - a detached medium.
And although I post content myself, I believe photos’ true existence should be on print.
Print requires time, effort and money to create meaningful work - one does not simply print every random photo.
This investment is something that can be felt even through the paper.
Life gets in the way.
Not all of us can dedicate our lives to the craft.
For some of us, its just for fun. For others it’s a necessity.
Maybe one day we’ll figure it out as we continue to take more and more photos, whittling down the excess and actualizing the process.
The art of the simple and everyday is perhaps my favorite type of photography.
Its liberating, candid, and meaningful to me.
The people surrounding me.
Family and friends.
The small underappreciated moments.
If you didn’t have to create for nobody but yourself, what would you create?
A video version of me trying to sort out these thoughts
