Food For Thought

Portland Head Lighthouse, Maine  (click to enlarge)
This is a very nice image but no better than thousands of others and not as good even more.  That said,
it is meaningful to me as looking at it brings back specific memories of my wife and I standing on
the rocks and enjoying the beauty before us.  This photo wins a prize in my personal photo contest.

Recently, one of my readers, Zave Shapiro, sent in an interesting comment in response to one of my blog posts.  Part of his comment struck a nerve with me and provoked some thought as I think Zave's words are something that all of us 'non-professional’ photographers should consider.  Here is part of his comment:

"It's (referring to my blog) a regular reminder that a picture is about design, about history, serves as an aide-memoire, and as fine decoration. It doesn't have to be a prize-winner, a witness to history or the evidence of obsession."

I think Zave's words and thoughts are dead on.  I think they are something all of us photographers, who are not providing images for hire, should think about.  

Once in a while we make a really terrific image.  One that could easily be a prize winner or garner praise and amazement from anyone who sees it.  But those are far and few between.  Because making prize winners are rare for most of us I think sometimes we get discouraged with our photography because when we look at our images, they look average, mundane, ordinary, routine, or whatever adjective you want to assign to them.  Anything but magazine cover material.  We all want to make prize winning photographs, capture the extraordinary light, record the peak moment of a significant event or have others react to our images by saying 'wow' or another exclamation of amazement.  If we don't create those kinds of images, we can be disappointed.  But we shouldn't be.

My thinking is that a 'good' photograph doesn't need to be award winning, capture extraordinary light in exotic places or capture the precise moment of an important event.  No, I think a good picture has meaning to us as the photographer no matter what it looks like to others.  A good picture to me can be relatively unremarkable to you.  That's okay.

This goes back to what I've recommended many times.  Photograph for yourself.  Don't try to please others.  Photograph the things that interest you.  Don't worry about what others may say or think about your photography.  For example, if you want to photograph all in black and white, do it.  It certainly isn't in 'style' any longer but if black and white is the way you want to express yourself, then you owe it to yourself to do so.

That photo you made of ocean waves crashing against the rocks may be like millions of others but, for you, it brings back memories of that special summer vacation to the seashore or elsewhere.  That photograph has meaning to you although it means nothing to anyone else.  It may look ordinary, but when you look at that photograph, all of those memories of standing before the power of the crashing waves against the craggy rocks comes rushing back.  You may even smile while mentally reminiscing.

The image at the top of this post is what I call a 'post card' shot.  It's the kind of photo you see in the racks of the tourist shops showing the lighthouse.  People buy them as a record of what they saw and where they’ve been.  It's a 'pretty picture,'  To me, objectively, this image is certainly unremarkable.  It is ordinary.  The light is bland.  It is too heavy on the left side and needs recomposed and re-cropped to improve.  But also to me, it reminds me of my wife and I standing there, on the Maine shoreline, looking at the lighthouse and all of the beauty before us.  To me, it has special meaning.  That what's important about this particular image.

I know I get discouraged when I see landscape and travel photographs of famous places which are better than either the ones I made when I was there or ones I could make if I ever go there.  But being discouraged isn't the right way to think about it.  Your photographs of Yosemite or the Grand Canyon or the beaches of Florida or the wheat fields of Kansas or New York City or anywhere else are your photographs.  You made them as you looked out over the scene.  They have meaning to you.  They reflect what you saw and how you felt and what you thought was important to record while standing there.  'Pretty' pictures by others of those places are fine, but they aren't yours.  They don't bring back your memories.  Your photos may not win contests but I can imagine you would like a nice matted and framed print on your wall to look at everyday.  It wins in your ‘personal’ photographic contest.

I enjoy photographing things 'just for the color.'  I'm sure others think that is a pretty dumb idea.  But it brings joy to me.  I enjoy searching for interesting and unusual colors, juxtapositions, contrasts, etc. of color that are interesting.  Also, I enjoy photographing what I call 'things as they are,'  meaning ordinary people doing ordinary things.  That makes no sense to some others, but I know that I love looking at photographs from decades ago and am fascinated in the colors, the cars, trucks, buses, signs, how people dressed, architecture, etc., of days gone by.  I enjoy it so I make those photographs that record everyday life today.  They mean something to me.

One additional thing I've written about that is important for me.  I've said and I'll now repeat, "I photograph to remember."  When I look at the images in my Lightroom catalog and come upon some images from years ago of which I have completely forgotten, instantly the place, time and circumstances of me making those images re-enters my thoughts.  I'll sit and gaze at them and drink in the memories of when I was there, who was with me, the weather and the entire experience.  Chances are none of those images are profound, prize winning nor extraordinary.  They are just mine that I made for myself that give meaning to my life.  Sometimes photographs are made to record beauty, sometimes to document and sometimes for whimsy.  All valid reasons for exercising your shutter finger.  All make me smile.

You get my point.  Don't be discouraged if your images don't measure up to others.  Don't worry about what others do or what they think,  It doesn't matter what your images look like and what your photographed as long as they matter to you.  Photograph for yourself.

Join me over at my website, https://www.dennismook.com.  

Thanks for looking. Enjoy!  

Dennis A. Mook  

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