From Where Does Your Photographic Joy Come?

Fuji X-T2, 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 lens @ 137.7mm; 1/1000th sec. @ f/5; ISO 200 (click to enlarge)

The other day I was letting my mind wander a bit and I found myself thinking about the pleasure and joy I derive from photography.  Not only do I love the "chase," that is exploring, wandering, looking and finally finding a subject that evokes an emotion in me, but I also derive joy from sharing my images, helping others with their photographic problems and now writing on photographic topics that others may find interesting.  That lead me to the question for you, "Where and how do you find photographic joy?"  Where does it come from?  Do you know?

Does your joy come from seeing a possible photograph and then figuring it out how to capture it so it manifests itself in just the way you saw it?

Does your joy come from producing an image for others and seeing big smiles on their faces?

Does your joy come from handling finely crafted and designed photographic tools and the image is secondary?

Does your joy come from "working" a scene, in other words, making photographs of a single scene in every possible manner you can just to see what you can create?  The challenge out of wringing every bit out of a single scene.

Does your joy come form challenging yourself in a specific way, again, just to see what you can make?  An example, is using only a single prime lens for a period of time. Another example is to photograph in a completely different manner than you normally do.

Does your photographic joy come from creating a perfect image, in your eyes?  

Does your joy come from taking an image which is far less than perfect then spending as much time as necessary perfecting it in a way to fully achieve your vision?  Achieving your vision is different from photographic perfection as that is highly subjective.

Does your photographic joy come from teaching others?

Does your photographic joy peak when you can be involved in the entire photographic process, from finding, making, editing, printing, mounting, framing and finally hanging your finished photograph on your wall?  Doing it all yourself.  Seeing the process through from start to finish.

Does your joy come from seeing the world in color then translating that to a black and white photograph?

Does your photographic joy come from researching, buying and then testing a new piece of gear?  Nothing wrong with loving the technical side of photography.

Harley Davidson Detail (click to enlarge)
X-T2, 16-55mm lens @ 38.8mm; 1/280th sec. @ f/8; ISO 400

Does your photographic joy come from wringing every bit of quality out of your gear under the worst conditions?  Again, the challenge.

Does your photographic joy come from just capturing a pleasing moment or an emotion evoking scene even with all its imperfections and then maybe sharing that with you loved ones or friends?  Its not the quality of the photograph but the feeling the photograph brings to you and others.

Is it the chase?  The pursuit?  The challenge of finding an a potential image that is worth pressing the shutter?  The gear? Or is it the final image?  Or all of it?

I've always loved the pursuit of a pleasing image.  I love to go out and just wander (hence the name of the blog) the back roads of the countryside and see what interesting subjects I can find.  Sometimes they present themselves and sometimes you really have to "see" what is around you.  Often times I see things others just miss.

I have also loved teaching photography which requires sharing all of your accumulated knowledge, both successes and failures.  I've often thought that if I can help others enjoy their photography as much as I have enjoyed mine, then I'm doing something worthwhile. 

In the same vein that I really liked working in the darkroom to produce the final print that reflected my vision for a particular subject, I like working in my editing software to achieve the same.  The image is not complete until it reflects what I first "thought" I saw and what I felt.

I used to find my joy in creating a perfect image.  Now I just try to recreate the subject as I imagined (visualized how I wanted it to be) it when I first laid eyes on the subject.  It doesn't have to be perfect. The finest details don't have to be visible.  For me, it is the overall sense of emotion I get when looking at the image.  If you look at many of the photographs considered some of the greatest by the photographers generally considered the best, the photographs are far from what we call "perfect" or even technically good today.  Content is king, still prevails in my judgment.

I would encourage you to conduct some self-examination to better understand what it is about your photography that gives you the most satisfaction.  Figure out what you like the best about photography and you may be able to derive even more joy out of your passion than you now do.  A deeper understanding may allow you to change your photographic pursuits, technique or editing for more satisfaction and less driving yourself crazy.  Only through understanding ourselves and what we desire from our photography can we maximize our joy.

There are all kinds of people with all kinds of photographic needs making images today. You just have to find out what ticks all the boxes for you.

Thanks for looking. Enjoy! 

Dennis A. Mook 

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