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| The two most important "men" in my life—my father and my son. (click to enlarge) Unknown camera, lens and film. |
Sometimes I still ask myself, "Why do I continue to photograph after all these decades?" I would not be surprised if many of you who have been photographing for many years ask yourself, on occasion, the same question. As for me, there are a number of reasons. Here are a few.
I photograph for pleasure. I am still as passionate about photography as I was when I first seriously started making photographs in the spring of 1970. When I photograph, I think the endorphins get released in my brain.
I get much personal satisfaction from creating something that didn't previously exist; something that is pleasing not only to my eye but to my heart.
I like to communicate meaning through visual expression. Sometimes words can't express what I am trying to say or how I feel. A photograph can successfully express what it is I am feeling.
I enjoy sharing my photographs with others. If I can create something that someone else can also enjoy (or even want), that makes me feel as though I am doing something worthwhile.
I enjoy helping others improve their photography. I have a lot of experience, keep up with all of the innovation, technology, gear and industry in general. If I can help someone else enjoy their photography as much as I have enjoyed mine, than that is a bonus for me.
I enjoy educating others. Photography can be simple or very complex. It can be technical and sometimes people have difficulty understanding technical aspects of the creative world. If I can help them understand so they can achieve their vision, that's great.
I get a sense of accomplishment from my photography. When I capture the image that I set out to capture or successfully capture something that all of a sudden appears before me, I feel as though I've had some success. I think everyone likes to feel successful.
I'm left handed (right brain dominant) but I also love technology which is mostly a left brain function. Photography is one of the few endeavors that can allow me satisfy the technical aspect as well as the creative aspect of my right brain/left brain dichotomy.
I very much enjoy looking at photographs. I admire excellent photography and by learning how to be a photographer, I am able to better understand how those photographs were made, which inspires me to get out and make better photographs.
All that said, there is one other important reason I photograph. Until last week, I had never quite thought of this reason but I saw this phrase on the internet and, immediately, it hit home with me. What is the phrase?
"I photograph to remember."
Until I saw "I photograph to remember" in writing, I didn't realize just how personally important that is to me. Let me explain.
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| A sunset sail on the Great Salt Lake, UT (click to enlarge) Pentax 6X7; 200mm f/4 Lens; Exposure unknown; Kodak Vericolor III film |
I don't need to go into how physiologically we remember some things and how many more things are forgotten until some sort of stimulus brings back those memories—sometimes. Yes, sometimes. Did a friend or relative ever bring up something in conversation and ask you if you remember and you didn't? That happens to me. However, when I see a photograph of the person, event, thing, place, etc., almost never can I not remember and remember clear details about where, when, why, how and who. The visual stimulus works wonders for my memory.
Typically, memories for me are general and conceptual. I don't know why, but I have forgotten a lot of what has happened in my life. Yes, I remember going to the California, Oregon and Washington coasts along the Pacific Coast Highway more than a decade ago, but I don't remember many of the details—the names of the towns in which we stayed, what I photographed, etc. I remember going to Alaska for a couple of weeks years ago, but most of the small memories that made the trip special aren't really there. Well, some are but only when I see images from my past do all the little details come to life and usually a smile comes to my face and heart. Photographs allow specific memories to burst forward in a rush. Details come alive.
My Lightroom Classic (LR) catalog is generally set up by geographical locations. There are also folders for family and friends and the associated activities that go with family events. Since I am mostly a landscape, nature and travel photographer, setting up my catalog in that fashion made sense to me. Whenever I open my catalog, in front of me are thousands of images of places I've been, people I know, events I've attended as well as abstract images of color, pattern, contrast, humor, etc. Each time I open my Lightroom catalog, memories come back just by seeing images on my computer monitor. Almost always, they are good memories, most of the details, unfortunately, largely forgotten.
I am a fanatic about keywording my files when I import them into LR. When I search my LR catalog for something specific, I see those images from my past. I see images images of places I've been, images of a friend who I haven't seen in years or maybe even has now passed away. I see images of a favorite car I once owned and a myriad of other things that have long been lost somewhere in the back of my brain. When I see those images, immediately my memory of 'the thing' returns. It's kind of amazing. That visual stimulus is the trigger for my brain to dig deep and pull out memories long gone.
It seems for all these decades I thought I was photographing for all those other reasons I listed, but I've also photographed as a visual notebook. Photography is the crutch that allows my brain to overcome its memory deficits.
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| Two friends. Toronto, Canada, 2001 (click to enlarge) Leica Minilux; 40mm f/2.4 lens; ISO 100 |
An example is the image at the top of this post. I made it about 1985. I had totally forgotten about it and my dad's visiting us at that time. He lived about 500 miles away and, because he was getting older and found it a bit tiring to drive through the Pennsylvania mountains on the infamous PA Turnpike, only visited once a year. We made the drive back to my hometown much more often. I believe this was his first visit after our daughter was born. My dad died in 2000 and my son is 39 years old this year. Without this image, I had a 'conceptual' memory of the time, but looking at this image brought back details about the time, place, people and events long forgotten.
The image of the sailing vessel was made on a trip in 1997 to Salt Lake City. I went for a conference and I stayed a few days afterward to drive down to and visit Zion National Park. I also remember visiting the Great Salt Lake and the Golden Spike National Historical Park in Promontory, Utah. However, I had forgotten the images I made at the lake. This image reminded me of where I was standing and that there was another sailboat off in the distance as well. It reminded me that I took an empty water bottle and filled it with water from the Great Salt Lake, which I later took home with me. I had collected a bit of water from the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and other prominent bodies of water. Why? Just because. I had forgotten all about details of that trip.
The last image I'll use as an example was made in October, 2001 in Toronto, Canada. This was another occasion when I attended an international conference and it was only five weeks after the events of September 11, 2001. I had taken the train from my home in SE Virginia to New York City where I spent the night. While there I had the privilege of visiting the site of the indelible tragedy as a guest of the Amtrak Police Chief. I was able to make a few images from the middle of the smoldering scene, which still had teams of searchers and cadaver dogs looking for the bodies of the victims. I'll never forget that part of the trip. But the next morning I boarded another train and rode to Toronto for the conference. The only thing on my mind was the events of 9/11 and what I had witnessed the evening before. The rest of the trip is a blur. But when I saw this image, I remember walking from my hotel to a three story (four maybe?) largely underground mall in downtown Toronto on a rainy afternoon. These two men were sitting and talking and I thought it made a wonderful image. I had my little Leica Minilux with its beautiful 40mm f/2.4 lens (still have it) and was shooting Kodacolor 100 print film. I made two exposures of these two men—one with the man on the left looking at the man on the right and this one, with both looking forward. I had forgotten all those details. This turns out to be one of my all time favorite images. All three of these images were in my LR catalog and I just happened to see them recently.
So, why do you photograph? I bet if you sat and thought about it deeply, not only will you discover something about yourself, but you may also develop better insight into your photography itself. Knowing your motivation for pressing that shutter button may help you become a better photographer.
I use my mobile phone as a visual notebook quite often. But it never occurred to me that all of my photography over the past 51 years served the same purpose as well.
Thanks for looking. Enjoy!
Dennis A. Mook
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