A note to myself and the ones who may ponder on the same silent questions. Today, the world is throwing over 1.8B photos to various social media sites daily. Let me say that again as I am sure you browsed right by it; 1.8 Billion photos are being shared daily. A rough estimate of 50 Billion a month. Now look back down at your own camera, your own moments frozen in time. Who will actually see them? Does it matter? Who are you shooting for? Why are you shooting?
Photography did not come natural to me growing up, I never got to play with cameras or take that many photos. During my childhood we didn’t take that many photos, if we compare to parents today then I definitely was behind the curve. Yet, freezing moments in time comes very natural to me. I shoot what I see, how I see it, usually without much interference with what is happening in the scene. This has been true to a lot of my commercial work as well. Sometimes it’s better to let models, scenes build themselves.
I am a professional photographer. Today, there are more professional photographers than ever before. Sadly it makes me not want to title myself as a professional photographer anymore since the definition of said title is based on doing work for compensation and a very loose term. I remember how powerful that title was just a few years ago and for now, it’s just something I say I do, but not as my identity tag.
Over the years I have fallen out of love for the little things I used to love the most, taking photos daily. Shooting used to give me a sense of purpose but I never shot for anyone but myself. Which also means I am sitting on thousands of photographs on my own hard drive, or the cloud, that not one human will ever see. Surprisingly that feels ok which also gives me an odd feeling when I read it out loud to myself. I truly enjoy freezing moments in time and the tool I prefer to use is most likely a very expensive tool. The tool itself does not have purpose in this note, but more so the end result.
Technical perfection — a perfect photograph. Perfectly sharp. Perfectly balanced. Perfect colors. Should we worry so much about the technical aspect of capturing an image? To me, it seems to be more a byproduct of our over consumption society we live in today. I am the first person to love anything new that comes out, so its not about new vs old, but I think I asked myself this question a few years ago and that is when I fell back in love with photography.
Canon used to be a client I shot and worked for, their cameras are more or less perfect and can create the perfect photograph. Arguably, boring looking most of the time, lacks life, lacks depth. It’s too perfect, for my taste.
Would you still enjoy being a photographer if no one saw your photos? No likes, no comments, no instant gratification and that sense of euphoria that you are the chosen one. I got 19 likes!
My answer today is different from a few years ago but it is a strong yes. I shoot for me, not you or anyone else. I capture what I enjoy and I do it with a hope of freezing that moment in time, forever the way I see it. My way, with my tools. Having fallen out of love for shooting was hard, especially since taking photographs used to fill me with joy and inspiration wherever I went. A former boss’ negative outlook on life was the first one that made me withdraw from shooting like I used to.
It is remarkable to me that we can we so affected by another humans opinions that we stop what we love. I never planned on stopping, I never planned on not shooting, but from that built up negativity, my body and mind just said no. No more. I lost that love to shoot, for me.
I look back through my archive of photos and I remember every single one of them. What I was doing, how the world felt around me and each an ever time I go back in time, I want to create more. It makes me want to pickup any camera I have laying around and just hold it. Holding it gives me that good good feeling we all enjoy. I love seeing life through a lens or a rangefinder, deciding what moment I want to save for a rainy day. Pure and simple: I love capturing moments and I am writing this as a reminder to myself to not fall out of love ever again with the simple practice that is photography.
What if no one saw your photos, would you still be a photographer? Yes, yes I would be. Finding an outlet for placing the photos somewhere will always be a thing, human nature. I am taking a slightly different approach as I, myself, miss the tangible of holding an item in your hand. Imagine 1.8 Billion printed photographs a day, we’d run out of trees in no time. Also not my goal, but it took a long journey into myself to find the what, why and how of photography.
Postcards, a simple photo + a few well chosen words with a stamp and off they go. I want to make postcards, but not to sell, no that is not my hope with this. My goal is to capture moments from my life and travels and send these moments to friends and family in a simple format that is a postcard. 5x7, 8x10, 6x6. The format will change but I will still want to call them postcards as that is what they are.
I will be a photographer that shoot for me, but in a strange way I will have a gallery of images out there in the world, some will go in the trash but some, maybe some will be hung up on the wall, some possibly even framed. I do not know where this will take me, but it is my own solution to this passion of mine that is photography. As I get moving with my life long project I will write more of these, not for you, not for anyone but myself. My thoughts at this point in time, a journal for my own mental health.
If you made it this far and would like a postcard, send me a message on instagram and we can exchange details.