Hello friend, today I want to talk about some of the reasons that I love photography, and all forms of creativity for that matter.
Photography gives me a goal to work towards
I love photography and writing because I enjoy looking toward the final product. The final piece that I can hold in my hands is the greatest reward. Like a carpenter seeing the walls of a house come up it feels good to see the fruits of your labor. When the image that you knew from the moment you pressed the shutter exactly what it was going to look like, and then making it a reality is an ecstatic revelation. It’s a reminder that we have some control over the world. Even if it’s only photons recorded onto a wafer, edited on a computer chip and printed onto some wood fibers, it’s still magical to be able to see your ability to manipulate the world into a final photograph.
Photography allows me to push myself
Photography gives me a reason to fight against myself. That may be hard to understand but hear me out for a minute. When I was growing up I was very much into skateboarding (still am) and skateboarding is like playing a boxing match with yourself (and the concrete). You fight against yourself and your physical limitations in order to become stronger, better, faster, etc. Photography is similar to me except there’s very little physical aspects to it, all the effort is put into the creative process. I’m always fighting against my own cynicism and ennui in order to see and manipulate the world so that I can show the fraction of a second where beauty still exists. I’m exercising my mind in order to happier, I’m pushing the limits of what I feel is the subject matter that can make up a good photograph. It’s a psychic expanding of the mind to be even more appreciative of the world around me.
Creativity allows me to be a kid again
I love all kinds of creation. Creating allow me to put my thoughts into something physical and more often than not it’s the silly, childish ones that are the best. The photographs that are about whatever it is that I find beautiful in the world. Or the pieces of writing that are simply about whatever makes me happy at that point in time. All forms of creativity go back to being a kid and playing in a wide open field, expressing yourself by simply doing whatever your heart tells you to do. I want to bring to life my inner child and remind myself what’s important about being alive in the short time we have on this earth.
