Photography changes your world view
Photography makes you see the world in a different way.
Click image to enlarge
It changes the narrative. It changes how you look at things, and the details you notice. Color, form, texture, composition, patterns and shapes. The way light and shadow inform our view. How emotion and drama are heightened and created.
Most people go through life without seeing the world around them, let alone intimately experiencing it.
It has changed my work as a writer, filmmaker, composer and person. It has made me a better, more compelling storyteller.
It has connected me with my community, friends and the place where I live.
It has connected me with time, seasons and cycles of life. It has deepened my understanding of the world and appreciation of humanity.
It has helped me be more honest with myself and others about who I am and the things I care about.
It very much appeals to both my scientific and artistic sides, it likewise provides an unexpected vehicle of expression. Unexpected because it’s not something I really saw myself doing.
Photography appeals as well to my sense of order and organization on many different levels, from the way I arrange the gear I take with me into the field to the process by which I plan and execute the shoot, and on into the way I input, append metadata, back up and work the photos. When I look at the world now I think about how it will look in black and white, or how I might manipulate one or more elements of the frame. I think too of how what is in front of me might become layered with something shot a while back or to be shot in the future.
It has given me a greater appreciation for art and architecture, music and dance, form and rhythm, place and juxtaposition. And it has made me realize that I am part of an artistic current that has been going on and evolving throughout human history.
It has been a creative outlet that has spilled out to all of my other creative expressions. The crosstalk between them has strengthened all.
Mostly it appeals to my love of exploration – of the world, of my capabilities and of myself.