February 21, 2022
Once Upon A Time
Once upon a time photography was a unique form of expressing yourself but now it seems that image creation is just a product, a snap shot and not a revelation of your inner world turned inside out for all to see.
Where is your foundation of incentive to create imagery that will inspire those trying to climb up the ladder of success, images that have power in themselves, they stand alone as a mystery, a marvel of inner longing, inner peace, inner hope?
But the big question now is it worth the effort to travel and spend your hard earned money to get to places that you have an intuitive expectation that your images once, upon a time, would make you thousands of dollars but now your effort will get you no where but in the photographer’s poor house, as the RF mega agencies take and take some more as the photographers stand down and refuse to send images to these photo agencies that used to sell your images for hundreds, thousands of dollars step down and create imagery for their own personal websites.
What we have now is photography without depth, character and a deep reflection of the image creator’s inner being, there are just too many images being taken with shallow compositions and exposures, a surface reflection of another's hard fought work, you must have motivation to travel and you must have a personal need not to just create a photograph but an image with inner depth that opens your eyes and your viewers.
Image creation is more than just clicking the shutter it is a real life experience, it is being engulfed in mother nature’s world, it is like entering a fantasy land of pure beauty and recognizing that you have found what you have been looking for, a connection with something bigger and more powerful for you to grasp fully.
In photography you have those revelations of the insight and love of life that you are surrounded in.
Photography is a visual message from your inner self, each image created represents your inner feelings, your intuitive objective becoming visually reflected in the image you will be creating, your inner purpose in photography is finding your intuitive perspective, discovered through your intense visual senses as you study your subject getting closer and closer to the composition that will express your bonding with the landscape before you.
Represented not as a shoot and go subject but a subject that you identify with on a deeper level than just taking a snap shot, the scene is beyond words, a melding of your photographic skills to dig deeper in the process of going beyond physical demands of the scene into a new world of empathy for all life on earth, a vision thought of but now present in front of you, the camera is secondary, separate yourself from the mechanical click of your shutter and persevere to find the natural light that will express, enhance your unique style, your tenacity to see the hidden beauty waiting for your recognition and demanding representation of your unique photography.
Photography is more than just a mechanical machine that does everything for the shooter, you must put away the need to push the shutter before your visual intensity has found the right components that you will build on to express a unique feeling that was hidden but now ready to make an image now perceived.
All imagery made are unique in some ways and you have to be savvy and change your approach to different subjects, being prepared is the best advice you will be given, don’t automatically start taking snap shots, stand back, think and feel the scene before you, your image uniqueness will come when you begin looking deeper into the landscape and going over in your mind how you will handle your subject through composition, light, and exposure for these will determine your success or failure, everything in its place, timing is your effort to approach a subject that you see the potential before you, making an image now is just a matter of standing your ground, putting time behind you and begin your steady pace toward a composition that expresses your inner vision.
In making images one must be aware of his/her surroundings and not allow a narrow perception to be your standard operating procedure or you will miss the true light that was hiding behind you.
There are deeper meanings to a subject than just surface qualities, your perception of a scene whether it be an object, person, landscape, city life, portraits you name it is just the beginning of your photography career, your task is to ignore all the critics and allow your inner voice direct you to bond with your subject, going deeper into the underlining meaning of its existence.
If you are just having fun taking photos and enjoy being in nature, in the city, on a boat, climbing mountains, go for it, but always be ready, for every once in awhile you will actually make a wonderful image where the light, composition and exposure were absolutely faultless, enjoy those moments and who knows this might spur you on to take classes and improve your inner visual senses, to create even better images.
