What is the Point of Photography ?

[Papercut]

"The" point doesn't exist, except in the most fundamental sense that photography fixes light (photons) in a more (or less) permanent form. Beyond that, there are myriad "points" (purposes / motivations) to photography. From mugshots, to ebay product descriptions, to journalism, to art, to family snapshots. Asking for "the" point is .... pointless (pun intended).

Humans have invented a very wide range of more or less specific "points" for fixing photons in a more or less permanent / reproducible form, and we'll continue to do so going forward. Like any technology (in the widest sense) that allows for the creation of meaning, the "points" of photography will continue to proliferate so long as humans find fixing photons more or less permanently a useful thing. Virtually all the debate and discussion about the purpose of photography simply misses ... the point (again, pun intended).

 

[daveoo]

To see, discern and preserve. Discernment with "Yes." or "Yes, however."

 

[jukka]

Asking for "the" point is .... pointless (pun intended). [...] Virtually all the debate and discussion about the purpose of photography simply misses ... the point (again, pun intended).

I both agree and don't agree with the above statements in that I found the question presented in the opening post a bit confusing.

However, my argument is that even if there is no single exhaustive answer to such a complex question (what is the point of photography), by deconstructing it we should be able to shed some light on the dilemma.🙂

1) Yes, technically speaking photography provides a way to preserve by organizing photons.

2) As a form of art, it (ideally) provides experiences that transcend the everyday (for both the artist and the audience).

3) As an occupation it provides an income.

4) And maybe most importantly for our purposes here, as a hobby it provides endless ways to construct our identities.

With identity I mean "stories that we tell ourselves of ourselves and which we then test in social interaction with our peers". In addition to the initial choice of the actual hobby, every choice we get to make within the hobby is another way of identifying ourselves. With the medium and the gear we use and the photos we choose to present to others, we tell a social story of ourselves.

In an internet forum, such as this, the identity building aspect of photography is highlighted. It is here that we tell our stories and test them in social interaction.

 

[Ricoh]

To express your feelings, emotions...

Have a look at these fine images, youth photographers expressing their thoughts and feelings through the visual medium.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-54782314

 

[paulfish4570]

to write a visual poem ...

 

[Mlehrman]

I agree with Paul and Ricoh. Paul, I remember your domestic visual poetry very well. Ricoh, those are some wonderful pictures.

 

[paulfish4570]

thank you, M ...

 

[CharlesDAMorgan]

It gets me outside for nice walks in gorgeous countryside, even in bad weather, and developing gives the same purpose to do on a rainy day.

 

[Richard G]

To communicate so that Paul returns to the discussion. So nice to see you here.

 

[Ambro51]

To hold a moment

 

[Jamie Pillers]

I’m always trying to put something in that rectangle that interests me, hopefully for more than a few ‘looks’.

 

[Out to Lunch]

 

[robert blu]

To communicate my thoughts, fears, dreams or nightmares in a visual work of any kind... this is the point for me...as I did in the first lockdown time with my "those days" work...

 

[Rob-F]

Garry Winogrand answered it and I doubt many can improve on the reasoning, rationally, that is to see what something looks like when it’s photographed.

Photography doesn't really have a point. Photography is the point.

And as Oblio proved in the film, "You don't have to have a point to have a point."

I see photography as an embodiment of the Japanese notion of mono no aware, which is an appreciation of the transience of things. We might not have an equivalent idiom in English, but I think we all get the feeling when we look at the results of our shutter pushes.

For me it is a transference/connection to my Dad who passed few years back.

It gives me a third eye that is not blind.

These answers meant a lot to me. I will add that photography helps me see and remember things better than I would be able to if I didn't photograph. Just looking through the finder and deciding what belongs in the bright-line frames already anchors the shot in my mind. And then I have the shot as a backup.

Stephen Shore's idea of photographing the mundane, just as it is without trying to make it pretty or meaningful, has expanded my range of what to photograph.