Thinking About the People Side of Photography

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.  

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