day 223

I want to make it clear what photography means to me because these days everyone is a “photographer”.

This all stems from a post on facebook from a local fellow photographer, and friend, Ashley Bates, that she is “retiring” her photography. I was flabbergasted. She wants to “close that chapter in her life” and focus on other things. It’s a shame. She’s a good artist. Then I really got to thinking and investigating on a psychological level. What would make someone quit photography? To me photography is as natural as breathing. How could someone NOT want to take pictures? But then I thought about how different everyone is and all the styles of photography and what people take pictures of and why and I realized... most people who start off in photography do it as a means to an end...the end result is almost ALWAYS money or fame/recognition. Whenever an art form turns solely into a way to make money, I believe it is a terrible thing.

I don’t do photography for money, for attention, to be hip, etc. It’s not a chapter in my life or some artist phase I’m going through. It IS my life. I am IN LOVE with it. I could care less if I get praise from the masses on how “hot” my photos are. I could care less about comments, views, lists, and likes. I DO care that my friends and like-minded artists encourage and uplift me. Photography is the constant in my life. It’s what I want to do until the day I die. It’s what I think about all day, its how I see things, it’s what I want to talk about, its what I want to learn about.

Everyone sees the world in a different light. And how they see the world is reflected in ones art. I see the real and the fake and the rich and the poor and the happy and the sad. Everyone wants to photograph well-lit, fancy dressed females in clever situations that everyone is going to praise because that’s what the masses want to see... and want to be. That is all well and great. Even I like to do it every once in awhile. But that is not what it is about for me. Its all about the emotion. Even in inanimate objects. Its about the life captured. The simplicity of capturing things that you see every single day, but never thought enough of it to snap a moment of. I guess this is why my inspirations and influences are people who like to shake it up, shock people, anger people, awe people. People who use their art to bring out the emotions in people that aren’t always favorable. People who use their art to make fun of the people that love it. Artists who never receive fame or recognition until after they are dead....spending their whole lives dedicated to their projects and craft because it IS their love... their life... their madness and passion.

I know that I will always love photography even if I never make a cent off of it. It would be amazing to have a job related to the thing I love, that I can't deny. But it is a hard thing to sacrifice my artistic freedom to take a picture of something I haven't fallen in love with. I guess that 's why I consider myself an artist and not a photographer per se. I would gladly sell my car and my belongings to have no bills and do the thing I love all the time.