Why I don't consume a lot of photography

November 17, 2022 in journal

The sheer amount of amazing images being made nowadays can be overwhelming. “Comparison is the thieve of joy”; and today, there’s no shortage of photographs to compare ours to. This can make us feel miserable.

This is why I don’t consume a lot of photography. I follow a handful of photographers whose work I admire, enough to get some inspiration every once in a while, and focus all my energy on developing my own vision and approach to the medium.

Simply copying someone else’s work won’t lead us anywhere, but constantly trying to stand out among the crowd can be even worse. Our work shouldn’t be based on what others have or haven’t done. We need to stop trying to be unique, because we already are.

What your camera says about you as a photographer

February 25, 2020 in journal

We've talked about how talent and skills are not enough to make a photographer stand out above the crowds nowadays. While I believe patience and persistence are the best way to deal with this, there are other ways a photographer might try to be different -sometimes even unconsciously.

An obvious one is camera gear. Indeed, today a photographer's camera is not so much about image quality but about signaling who you are as a photographer. These are some examples; they are generalizations and they won't fit everyone, but they might sound familiar to you. I definitely can see myself in 2 of these.

Photography is about passion

February 04, 2020 in journal

Photography is one the most accesible art forms: anyone can make an image!

Today, camera gear won't make you stand out as much as it used to. Gone are the days when only a handful of people could afford to shoot, develop and print on a regular basis.

In this new world, all that's left to make a photographer stand out is vision and passion: how you see the world and how bad you want to make images.

That's it.