I love looking through the lens.

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Thoughts on ownership of photos:

In general I believe we humans have an unhealthy obsession with ownership and possession of things we think are ours.

The photos I've captured and posted here have been heavily influenced by more sources that aren't mine than I can give credit to: other photos, videos and film, music, feelings, specific directives, weather, other people's ideas and comments, magic of the moment etc etc. Most of the subjects of my photos are not inherently mine either: landscapes, other people, animals, flowers and trees, water, food etc.

How can I claim ownership of a little framed slice of time that captures any or all of these things that aren't mine?

To further illustrate how I think we have become overly possessive of photos we take, consider this: If I perfect all the settings and direct a friend how to frame and focus for a photo of Lindsey and me, who owns that photo? My friend presses the shutter but I decide on the settings—what classifies "taking a photo"? If you agree with me that it's more than just pressing the shutter, setting it on Automatic would mean whoever made/engineered your camera should own at least 50% of your photo for deciding on the settings.

I could go on and on about how our ugly possessive nature has ravaged the world at large and billions of people throughout history but I'll spare you that... for now.

This perspective raises some tough questions like, "If I'm a photographer how do I make money if anyone else can download my photos and use them at their own discretion?" or "What is the purpose of taking photos anyway?" I don't claim to have the answers to these but am willing to discuss and explore.

In conclusion, the photos I've captured and posted here are free to use as you please, though of course I don't mind a little shout out and I definitely want to see where you've used it! (out of curiosity). The shout out just because, though I don't claim ownership of the frame, I did go through the effort of buying the camera, taking the photo, and posting it :)