"What's the whole point of taking pictures?"

A

AndyCapp

Guest
I was asked this question. I became curious. What answers do you have? Mine, I know.
 
For me: To move the viewer of the photograph. I want to capture an authentic emotional moment. But let's face it, there are as many answers as there are uses of photography. My answer would mean nothing to a photographer preparing production stills or to an architectural photographer capturing the specific use of a motif on a building of a certain period. With the ubiquitous cell phone (and the incremental zero cost of a happy snap in the world of digital) users make pictures of things they want to remember or can't remember replacing an older use of pencil and paper (wi-fi passwords, serial numbers on equipment, my wife's fender bender for the insurance company, the fuse numbers on an electrical panel, the price of a pound of pasta, the color of competing hot tub designs and so on).
 
For me: To move the viewer of the photograph. I want to capture an authentic emotional moment. But let's face it, there are as many answers as there are uses of photography. My answer would mean nothing to a photographer preparing production stills or to an architectural photographer capturing the specific use of a motif on a building of a certain period. With the ubiquitous cell phone (and the incremental zero cost of a happy snap in the world of digital) users make pictures of things they want to remember or can't remember replacing an older use of pencil and paper (wi-fi passwords, serial numbers on equipment, my wife's fender bender for the insurance company, the fuse numbers on an electrical panel, the price of a pound of pasta, the color of competing hot tub designs and so on).
You are right; there are many answers. I wanted to hear yours.
 
It lets me express my meager, at best, artistic side because I can. And every once in a blue moon I get a shot that others say is good and that makes it worth my time.
I appreciate your genuine personal answer. I hear you.
 
I take pictures because I want to...end of story. It isn't any more complicated than that.
Why don't you want to collect stamps or insects instead? What is it with taking pictures? Did you ever think about that?
 
Simple: I enjoy the process.

That's why I shoot film, not digital: I go out hiking, I find a thing that I can arrange in the viewfinder, I take meter readings, focus manually, frame the shot, and trip the shutter. Then I go home, get the chemicals out, and develop the film. And while I scan the film as a compromise - it's much faster and easier than making contact prints for every roll - ultimately nothing beats being in a darkroom and making a print under the red safelight for me. It's peaceful, it's challenging, it's rewarding, and it's fun.

If the photos end up on a wall or in a magazine, that's nice. If other people see them and like them, that's nice too. But it's the process that interests me and keeps me shooting.
 
I'm a people-watcher, I like the sense of connection I get from being around other people going about their lives. So that's a reason for me to do street and documentary-type photography. I've settled mostly upon that and landscape - these genres interest me the most. But it's also, on a deeper level, a creative outlet for me. As a person with a noncreative job, I need to feel a sense of artistic accomplishment even if it receives few accolades and is mostly for myself.

On the other hand, I have always had a strong desire to be a writer, and I have observed that photography, by satisfying the itch to create, sidetracks me from accomplishing much writing. Picking up a camera and going out in search of an interesting shot is always an easier proposition than sitting down and structuring some kind of creative writing.
 
I'm a people-watcher, I like the sense of connection I get from being around other people going about their lives. So that's a reason for me to do street and documentary-type photography. I've settled mostly upon that and landscape - these genres interest me the most. But it's also, on a deeper level, a creative outlet for me. As a person with a noncreative job, I need to feel a sense of artistic accomplishment even if it receives few accolades and is mostly for myself.

On the other hand, I have always had a strong desire to be a writer, and I have observed that photography, by satisfying the itch to create, sidetracks me from accomplishing much writing. Picking up a camera and going out in search of an interesting shot is always an easier proposition than sitting down and structuring some kind of creative writing.
I used to think of myself as a potential writer. Now that I have been versed in some modern writing I do understand that I do not have it. It is exactly as you said: Structuring some creative writing is an uphill battle. Being observant and verbal is not good enough. You have to build a dynamic construction where everything you put on the paper must be relevant to the plot. My head is not up to that.
So you take a photo. Sounds like a sort of a cop out, doesn't it? Who cares if you don't.
 
I used to think of myself as a potential writer. Now that I have been versed in some modern writing I do understand that I do not have it. It is exactly as you said: Structuring some creative writing is an uphill battle. Being observant and verbal is not good enough. You have to build a dynamic construction where everything you put on the paper must be relevant to the plot. My head is not up to that.
So you take a photo. Sounds like a sort of a cop out, doesn't it? Who cares if you don't.
My head is not really up to that either, but I usually chalk that up to laziness. A great book to read on creativity is called The War of Art, where the author describes something called "resistance" which is a somewhat nebulous (a little bit woo-woo) force or impulse to give up on creative endeavors once we get going, where pushing through the resistance might result in greater success. I've even gotten to the point where I titled my last started (and as yet uncompleted) story idea "Trunk Novel" and I do think that if I stuck it out a few times I could gain most of what I'm lacking.

Secondary point: it's mainly lack of time and energy. I think most Americans operate at or near their maximum capacity (certainly a capitalist country like ours wants to figure out how to maximize the work output of each individual) for endeavors of this sort. If I didn't have to work full-time, I've often said that I would still get out of bed at the same time of day, sit myself in a seat for at least the first four hours of a standard workday, and just force myself to write in the same way I force myself to work in the office.

In summary, it's not that we don't have what it takes, it's just that other things are using up that energy and focus. For me, anyway.
 
"In summary, it's not that we don't have what it takes"
Peope tell me stories that need to be told. I am an observer and a commentator, not a story teller, sorry.
Recently, I have been reading Mark Twain. He had it!
 
"In summary, it's not that we don't have what it takes"
Peope tell me stories that need to be told. I am an observer and a commentator, not a story teller, sorry.
Recently, I have been reading Mark Twain. He had it!
Twain could turn a phrase like few others... yet I don't like much of his fiction. There's a lesson to be learned there, I guess: we don't all agree on which stories need to be told.
 
Why photograph? Because it's an easier way to deal with the world than to drink a fifth (or smoke a lid for that matter) before noon on a day off.

And on a good day, I might even have something other than a hangover to upload to Login • Instagram

I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader to decide how serious this particular aesthetic philosophy is.
 
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