In the last post, I said it was time to broaden my horizons, photographically speaking. I also mentioned outlining a plan on how this might happen. So for what it's worth, here's a plan for change.
1. Comfort isn't all it's cracked up to be I tend to photograph the landscape, not because of its beauty or the challenges of photographing in the wild (anyone who knows me knows that isn't true!). No, I do it because I don't have to deal with people. Trees don't interrupt, mountains don't move about. It is comfortable to be on my own, not having to deal with other human issues. It is an escape from day to day frustrations, and that's not a bad thing, but it's also an escape from everything, and that is dangerous. To escape from everything is to hide from everything, and that can leave one empty and alone. It's time to experience life in all its diversity by leaving the comfort zone of landscapes. 2. Letting go of absolutes I am stuck in my ways, partly due to my age, but also because I've ALWAYS been stuck in my ways! Taking time to understand how others think and feel can open my eyes to the fallacy of absolutes. For instance, when I was younger, I placed the black and white image on a pedestal, Nikon was the best camera, film would never die. These were absolute truths, unchanging, unyielding, and the right view. Look at me now... I shoot digital color (and black and white), I use a Fuji camera (and an iPhone), and I don't shoot film (in over a decade)! These changes came about not because I necessarily wanted them to, but because I had stagnated, gotten lost, had stopped photography altogether. This happens when you are not open to the idea that change is a part of life... in fact, change is life. Nothing is permanent, everything changes. It's time to embrace those changes, to let go of what I believe is true, of what I think the way things are supposed to be. 3. Connection is paramount When I'm on my own, I'm comfortable, but I lose that connection with humanity that is so important to life itself. Without that connection, I become isolated and detached from humanity. I become ignorant about how other people live and interact with the world. That's how you get old and disconnected from what is, preferring a made up world that is safe and generic, one I don't want to live in. The grass was NOT greener "back when"; building walls does not protect your way of life; living in isolation leads to fear of anything that isn't you. This disconnection results in lost opportunities -- making a connection with others -- learning and sharing knowledge and experience. It is up to me to make those connections, and in so doing, appreciate their understanding of our world. 4. Accept the validity of the other view Others have different realities than mine, which have led them to views I may not agree with. I strive to be open minded, not categorizing everything as either right or wrong, and try to accept the alternative view as a legitimate one. To open oneself to that possibility is the first step towards understanding that the world is not made up of what I decide it's made up of. That is not to say I have to agree with the view, since views are formed from experiences, and those change from person to person. But I do need to accept that someone can reach a different view than mine because of those experiences, and accept that view as a valid one. This opens up avenues of understanding new ideas and realities. 5. Communication has a purpose To experience life in all its infinite combinations shapes who we are and who we can become. To create images that communicate that experience shapes the world we live in and what it can become. This is what it means to communicate with purpose. Improving one's photographic practice can lead to better communication, while listening, learning and accepting other views creates connections that can be powerful and long lasting. This in turn makes our photography more powerful, allowing us to capture a moment that not only records, but communicates with purpose. This is the road I have walked on all my life, even when I did not realize it, and hope to expand on as I connect to the world that is and the one that can be. Will I succeed or fail? By taking a first step is already succeeding, and that can lead to vistas never imagined. I plan to be there to photograph them!
1 Comment
Ruth Dunn
11/29/2017 03:01:30 pm
I am not a photographer but I take pictures ocassionaly. I take pictures of the cracks in sidewalks, old outbuildings with rusted roofs, and garbage containers lined up in a diagonal row looking like Daleks.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
fotostufphotographic illuminations Archives
December 2018
Categories
All
|