What Photography Means to the World
Photography is an observer’s hobby. It is a facet for learning about the world we currently inhabit. It pressures the photographer to be adaptable and present. Photography encourages the challenge of letting go of what is expected and running with what you can get.
I was walking on the beach one day and I came across a couple of guys surfing. We spoke briefly before they continued the cycle of running into raging waves and riding the wake before getting knocked back by the force of the ocean. Their activity brought electricity to the beach; it was mesmerizing to watch their determination. I followed them into the water stopping only when my camera was in danger of the waves. Standing waist deep in the November ocean, it was freezing. The initial shock underwent a transition from severe ugh to thrill and enjoyment in the seconds it took wading out towards the surfers with my Canon.
Feelings undergo change when one becomes invested in objectives. Discomfort, caution and thought go out the window trying to capture certain shots. My personal goal as a photographer has always been to project energy and candidness through the composition of my photos. It’s more than what is happening in the photo, it’s a signature, an interpretation by someone living their own vision of what is unfolding.
What is beautiful about the experience of photography is the ability to be an active observer. Photography renders a person challenged by the conditions of a scene and gratified by the results of one’s own creative eye. It opens the door for connection to the outside world with a subjective focus. Sometimes to get the photo, you must push yourself into the discomfort of breaking the barrier to the subject, and from that comes the best shots.
The photographer is indispensable to humanity, every photo being a timestamp, one couldn’t have the perspective of the world we do without photographers. In nature and human activity, other mediums of preservation are subject to the bias of voice and opinion. Photos can stand alone; the modern world wouldn’t be convinced of reality without visible proof. Photos offer insight to the world in real time, staged or real. They make us ask questions about the subjects and their expression in the moment.
Anyone can carry a camera, but when you commit to yourself the objective of capturing a unique moment using a live, reactive medium, that is the energy of a photographer. Every day there are incredible moments that will never repeat themselves quite the same. Sunset, sunrise, the waking or deadening of nature as the seasons change, and people doing all of the things, every day is a new opportunity full of moments worth preserving and for what? The act of photography reasons for preservation. Preservation of scenes that will be lost in our lifetimes, and rather than committing to memory the feelings of an instant we can instead add to our portfolio of moments and subjects found before their extinction to time.
Photography is important for its inherent value in capturing the activity of the world, and what is unique about our time in 2023 – anybody can try it. Whether you’re armed with a DSLR or a phone, photography is an activity to be used as a facet to learn more about the flexibility of one’s perceived limitations and capacity to create something meaningful. To quote photojournalist Sebastiao Salgado, “It’s more important for a photographer to have very good shoes, than to have a very good camera.”
