why do i photograph?

[acheyj]

I have to.

 

[FrankS]

I photograph because I suck at painting.

Seriously, I photograph because it is a creative outlet for me that I find satisfying. Photography helps me see the beauty in the mundane, and show proof.

 

[amateriat]

I photograph because I suck at painting.

My mother was an accomplished painter, and that was (half-jocularly) my excuse early on; she admonished me, saying that my creative pursuits shouldn't be tainted by the notion of failure at something else. That sobered me a bit.

Seriously, I photograph because it is a creative outlet for me that I find satisfying. Photography helps me see the beauty in the mundane, and show proof.

I like that a lot.


- Barrett

 

[robklurfield]

Intro to Western Philosophy 101
First Lesson: The Great Philosophers

Rene Descartes: I think, therefore I am.
David Hume: I am, therefore I think.
Soren Kierkegaard: Do it or don't. (You will regret both.)
Albert Camus: To do is to be.
Jean-Paul Sarte: To be is to do.
Frank Sinatra: Doo bee doo bee doo (strangers in the night, exchanging glances...)
Romper Room: Do be a do bee. Don't be a don't bee. (Only an American growing up in the 60's will remember this one. A slogan from a kids tv show of that era.)
Popeye the Sailor: I yam, what I yam.

I think this next one fits me best:

I have to.

 

[wray]

Well, it beats wearing a hair shirt! Seriously though, whether I'm using a camera or not, I'm always taking pictures with my eyes. Don't really know why. I guess I'm just hard wired that way!

 

[Yammerman]

For me its the perfect combination of the creative and the technical .

 

[__hh]

... because it pisses the hell out of authorities, people that have something to hide, and close-minded/paranoid people.......

.... oh, and I do it because I like to be able to look back in time. I don't have a photographic memory.

 

[Sparrow]

That’s easy; I spent lots of money on this nice shiny photographic stuff, and now I feel I must justify the expense … or maybe just fooling myself, and I’m merely an artist after all, who can tell?

 

[David R Munson]

I photograph because in photography I found a vehicle through life. I have an overactive mind and under-active ability to deal with a lot of life directly. In photography I managed to find something that enables another way of life. I channel my life through the camera, and in doing so discover things that would have remained hidden otherwise.

I continue to photograph because, as difficult as it is at times, photography is something that always allows me a way to move forward in life in one way or another. I have struggled with ADD, with depression, with any number of things, but photography has remained constant.

How could I turn my back on something like that?

 

[dan denmark]

feels right.

 

[Matus]

I guess for the same reason I do nuclear physics. It is enough to know a bit about it and people find you cool 😀 , but otherwise - given the results so far - I am probably only compensating for something (especially with my 4x5 Tachi 🙄 )

 

[Richard G]

Helen's comment is good and many others also relate to the taking of the picture or the doing of photography. I find this like bird watching: utterly absorbing and very restful, trying to see the photograph and not just a snap, thinking about the light, the geometry, the depth of field, stopping the motion or not stopping the motion. Then there is the end product, which with film you wait for, the negative, the print, the after-thought shot that far exceeds my expectations, the very rare image whose geometry stops me in my tracks, or the smile of my daughter or the beauty of her hands. And then there is the intervening technical challenge, the hand-held lightmeter taking an incident reading, lifting the 50 year old M2 with its tiny 35 to take the shot, knowing exactly where in its downward trajectory that camera's shutter release button will trip the shutter, knowing I can just hand-hold 1/4s, the smell of the equipment, the look of disbelief from those nearby as you take the bottom off the camera and produce from your pocket what looks like a roll of film. All those dos quoted above from the great philosophers are all encompassed in this.

 

[Chris101]

Anna Counta

 

[Larky]

Because they run away from me and if I have a picture I can keep them in my closet of souls forever...

And in reality, because I enjoy the sound the shutter makes and I enjoy seeing the results.

 

[bmattock]

Anna Counta

I must be missing something here. Acuna M'tata?

 

[Chris101]

It's what I always say top the kids when they do the "why, why, why" thing Bill. Anna Counta = 'on account of', but I pretend that she's a long lost czarina.

ps, look. I have 1024 posts - the magic K!

 

[sepiareverb]

Uh, Joe is asking us why he photographs.

 

[Chris101]

Uh, Joe is asking us why he photographs.

Oh, that's a much harder question then. I looked at his flickr profile for a clue, but all it said was "I'm male."

 

[MickH]

Uh, Joe is asking us why he photographs.

LMFAO

Dunno about him, but I do it because I'm crap at it and know I'll get better. Even if I get really good at it I'll still be able to improve. Will this lead to frustration?

 

[Jamie Pillers]

I'll go with Winogrand... I photograph to see what things look like photographed.