I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that the majority of the people reading this have taken a picture at some point in their life. I'm also going to walk out a little further on that branch and make the conclusion that you are, at this point in your life, interested in photography. This doesnt mean that you are a professional photographer. It doesn't mean that you feel a great calling as an artist to use a camera as your tool. It doesn't mean that you even call yourself a photographer (which is a different topic for a different day.) To put it simply, you like to take pictures, right?
My question is why?
I have a few favourite answers to this but I'm not going to put them up here just yet.
My response to this question is quite simple. I have to. I can't not take pictures. There's something that goes on between my eyes and my brain that makes everything I see into a photograph. There are times when I have to make the concious decision to turn that off so I can concentrate on a conversation or get a task done. We live in a beautiful world (thank-you, Coldplay) and there are so many amazing moments happening in it and around us every second of every day. I just want to capture those single moments in time.
Why do you do it?
It's a big question...I
It's a big question...
I take photos for a variety of reasons. One is to capture the moment before me, as I see it. Often that moment is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It's incredibly satisfying when someone likes or even loves a photo I've taken. It's also very interesting to find out how others interpret your photo and what they can see. Although not technically competent, I find so much pleasure in photography. Taking photos is something I've neglected for far too long. Being a member of flickr reminds me constantly of this.
Learning to find beauty in
Learning to find beauty in the world around me changed my whole existence. When I'm taking pictures I feel more alive and more creative than almost any other thing that I do. I literally think that taking pictures saved my life. I got up and out of the funk that I was in and set off to explore the world and capture it from my point of view.
Flickr has been a source of
Flickr has been a source of inspiration for many, MANY people. There are some truly amazing photos on there (and probably even more really bad ones!) I love your reason for taking pictures, Louis. It's so important to actually SEE the world and not just move about in it. It offers us a very new sense of appreciation, I think. Thanks for you comment!
I just started taking photos
I just started taking photos regularly in December 2005. I'm not as compelled to do it as Rhonda. But it wasn't until I spent a day looking at Flickr that I realized that I was living in a beautiful world and not really seeing it. Photography has made me stop and actually look at what's going on around me, whether I'm holding the camera or not. I just wish I had started taking pictures sooner.
Post new comment