one way
black and white, right and wrong; there is one way to do everything, if you listen to certain people. the binary of right-ness prevalent in society (particularly american society, where it is fetishized) is something that constrains us as individual personalities and tames us as chaotic beings. if you adhere to a "law and order" mindset, then right and wrong are pillars of justice. it then becomes a moral question. who is right, who is wrong? now you have the world divided up neatly into opposing camps, with an enemy that will never exhaust its ranks. but i'm getting carried away.
in terms of photography, i find the limits of the medium to be extremely enriching. generally speaking, photography is simple, and there are thick borders drawn around its definition. and as is the case with any art form, photography is overrun with people who will tell you with the assurance of true devout belief what makes a good photograph and what makes a bad photograph. what is right and what is wrong, beyond the dictionary definition of the medium.
the image here is fairly typical of extremely popular street images i see across social media. a lone figure walking in a corridor of light with defined shadows falling around them. it is basically its own genre at this point. i find myself searching out these scenes when i am photographing people not because i am interested in them but because that is what the consensus has determined to be "good." or "right." and i have been thusly influenced. now i have internalized that this is the "right way" to do street photography. i find it fairly boring as a trend, though it produces images that are nice to look at. and it has afforded me an opportunity to make a metatextual comment and reflect on my own insecurities, which is itself immensely valuable. life is not without a sense of humor.
what i find myself struggling to develop is an identity as a photographer, to develop a style. a calling card. because i am too busy cribbing from the style and identity of others, and i am so insecure about my own abilities and creative vision, sometimes i end up outsourcing my voice. to be perfectly candid, perhaps too candid for a flickr comment, i think it comes from a place in my heart where i just want to be liked. but that's not the purpose of art, to be liked. the way i see it art is supposed to challenge, to inspire, sometimes offend or repulse. but always to create an emotional tether from the work to a piece of our hearts. the constraints of photography can liberate us and allow us to do just that. it simply requires bravery. art does.
one way
black and white, right and wrong; there is one way to do everything, if you listen to certain people. the binary of right-ness prevalent in society (particularly american society, where it is fetishized) is something that constrains us as individual personalities and tames us as chaotic beings. if you adhere to a "law and order" mindset, then right and wrong are pillars of justice. it then becomes a moral question. who is right, who is wrong? now you have the world divided up neatly into opposing camps, with an enemy that will never exhaust its ranks. but i'm getting carried away.
in terms of photography, i find the limits of the medium to be extremely enriching. generally speaking, photography is simple, and there are thick borders drawn around its definition. and as is the case with any art form, photography is overrun with people who will tell you with the assurance of true devout belief what makes a good photograph and what makes a bad photograph. what is right and what is wrong, beyond the dictionary definition of the medium.
the image here is fairly typical of extremely popular street images i see across social media. a lone figure walking in a corridor of light with defined shadows falling around them. it is basically its own genre at this point. i find myself searching out these scenes when i am photographing people not because i am interested in them but because that is what the consensus has determined to be "good." or "right." and i have been thusly influenced. now i have internalized that this is the "right way" to do street photography. i find it fairly boring as a trend, though it produces images that are nice to look at. and it has afforded me an opportunity to make a metatextual comment and reflect on my own insecurities, which is itself immensely valuable. life is not without a sense of humor.
what i find myself struggling to develop is an identity as a photographer, to develop a style. a calling card. because i am too busy cribbing from the style and identity of others, and i am so insecure about my own abilities and creative vision, sometimes i end up outsourcing my voice. to be perfectly candid, perhaps too candid for a flickr comment, i think it comes from a place in my heart where i just want to be liked. but that's not the purpose of art, to be liked. the way i see it art is supposed to challenge, to inspire, sometimes offend or repulse. but always to create an emotional tether from the work to a piece of our hearts. the constraints of photography can liberate us and allow us to do just that. it simply requires bravery. art does.