LESSONS I'VE LEARNED
Where does art come from? That’s a question I’ve been asking myself lately. I’ve been working at photography for about eight years now and I’m fairly confident I’m getting better at the technical aspects but am I getting closer to making art? And let’s face it, what the heck is art anyway, what’s the litmus test? If it’s something that my mother would gladly hang from her wall, then I guess I’ve been an artist since I was old enough to hold a crayon. So there must be something more to this.
Regrettably I’ve had no epiphany, but I do wonder what happens in the process of making pictures, where it goes from a simple snap shot to something that has more meaning.
I’ve struggled mightily with the technical aspect of making pictures. Maybe my brain is more analog then digital and I should try shooting 35mm film. Perhaps I just need a Leica M4 and a 50mm Summilux nifty 50mm like HCB used and my vision will be suddenly be unveiled ;-)
But I doubt it. I think you either have it or you don’t. So if I’m honest, I would say I have the vision of a B league player. I’ve learned some basic competency, but I lack the drive, the desire and perhaps even the genetic goo to be someone who is truly great at this. My friend and teacher Patrick La Roque (@laroquephotogram) oozes artistic juiciness in everything he does. It’s really a marvel to behold. He can literally turn crap into something that’s beautiful to look at (not literally, for god’s sake).
So where does this leave the B team players like me? Well, you know, I think you have to aspire to something in life right? Maybe there’s some crazy cosmic goodness that comes when someone spends their life trying to reveal the kernel of potential they have. What I’ve learned is that creating pictures and sometimes adding a story to them (just like this one) makes me happy. It “forces” me, if that’s the right word to use, to process the world with the tools that I have available. Those tools are changing all of the time. Sometimes every week. Maybe that’s the carrot. Constant striving, constant self improvement. Breaking off little chunks at a time and sometimes, when I’m really in a good place, maybe I get to publish something that might resonate with not just myself but with others as well.
So I offer myself out there to the world of B players to not give up hope. The award is definitely in the journey itself. No one else may see you as an artist but if art is truth, the mere fact that we’re putting in the effort has its own merits. And when in doubt, just ask your mother. She’ll tell you the real deal.
SHOT WITH FUJI X-PR02, XF35MM F1.4
