Scott Bourne over at TWIP had a post this morning that made me think. Scott was discussing the art side of photography, the human side. While we all love obsessing over new gadgets, gear, and technology, I think we are all primarily motivated by the emotional response we get from photography. Here is my reply to Scott's post.
I've always looked at photography as a chance to share how the world looks through my eyes. For better or worse, I seem to have a non-standard perspective. I see things that other people don't. No, I don't see dead people, but I notice little details, light falling in an interesting way, and relationships between things that don't immediately seem related. When ever I point out one of these observations, people wonder how I came up with the connection. Undiagnosed ADD could have something to do with it. However, regardless of my current mental health, my photography helps me show the world how I see.
That's why I love looking at photographs from others. It gives me insight into what's important to them and from which perspective they observe their surroundings. The more I get into photography the more I realize that it's about people and relationships. Whether the relationship is between the photographer and a model, the photographer and a mountain, or the photographer and some cranes flying through the mist, I think photographs are manifestations of relationships.
