Question everything
When I first started my photographic journey, the same with everyone’s journey it was exciting and full of learning. It seemed like the creative outputs of endless possibilities was astonishing to think about. Then a little more time passed and I started to understand more about the images that I liked to produce. These were the simple and ‘pretty’ pictures that everyone would look at and say “that’s nice” as they passed it by. They had no emotional impact and only offered skin deep vanity. At the time I thought this was amazing and couldn’t see any further than the limited sight I had at the time. Very much being in the dark, I was happy turning over this kind of work.
Needless to say, photography had hooked me and I was starting to explore more opportunities with the practice. Eventually this lead me to pursuing photography to degree level. What I didn’t expect from this next step was a new thought process. This was a simple, yet arresting questions; ‘why’. I started asking “why am I doing this?” It had a profound effect on my work and approach to the images I was taking. Ultimately it put a handbrake on my practice within a very short space of time. The question made me evaluate what I was doing, “why am I taking a photo of this generic sunset/landscape/etc?” This would be the same photo that everyone has taken and my images were just another echo of every single sunset photo out there. What was the point in me taking this photo as well?
The answer to this question took some time for me to realise but a simple question requires a simple answer. Why am I taking this photo? Because I have something to say. At the time I didn’t have anything to say, I offered no comment because I didn’t understand my footing. Working through this problem took me a long time, there was no way around it so the only option was to go through it. I’m not going to lie, this was incredibly hard and full of frustration. As the only way to progress was by taking the photos and knowing that I was failing. But every so often there would be one image that would act as a signpost, one that would standout to me and give me a new perspective on where I was going. I eventually took enough photos to start and gain an understanding. It wasn’t perfect but the creative process is a messy one at best, so why fight it.
Another simple realisation on this path was if I see something and it stand out to me on some level then that would be worth making a photo of. it doesn’t have to be conventionally pretty or even make sense but if it connects on some level to me than I have something that requires a look. Applying these simple answers to the question ‘why?’ started to allow me to discover a voice somewhere inside of me. I wouldn’t say that I have grasped a full understand and I think that trying to understand it would be a waste of time but rather the path that illuminates this is the one that is worth understanding. It’s the journey that is rich after all, not the final destination.
Here’s a little takeaway thought -
What do I know that you don’t? Nothing is the answer. We are all the same and one day I picked up a camera. I started taking a few photos and I haven’t put that camera down. The only thing this has taught me is there are things I like to see and others that don’t interest me so much. I just try to apply that learning to the things I put inside of the frames I make.
