Why do you take pictures? I mean, really?

[sf]

Some people, I would imagine, take pictures in a certain way, of certain things, because the act fulfills a certain need. I don't think photography is a selfless act.

I do it for the same reasons Nabokov opened "Speak, Memory" as he did. Or at least, I do it with a similar sort of need for resisting the passage of time.

And are there any images that you've captured that you would say really align with why you shoot?

I know there are shots I've taken that I would say are really "me". That someone could look at and say "He took that one." Then, there are some that have very little resemblance to myself. Some that anyone could have taken, and even people who really know me would never see as mine.

 

[J. Borger]

It gives me a reason to get out the house and observe the world around me.
I see people and places far more consciously when carrying a camera.
Not always in a nice or pleasant way ... but that does not matter: it makes me feel part of the world around me. As much a participant as an observer.

I find it hard to judge my own pictures. I was told several times by others there is a certain melancholy in a lot of my pictures. Do not know if this is true, could be..... i also prefer sad music & sad movies 🙂

Besides this all ... a famous Winogrand answer to your question why we take pictures is more simple yet very valid for me: "to see how a scene looks/ turns out in a picture"

 

[Rich Silfver]

Answer #1
I really like older cameras and I like carrying them around with me.

If I didn't take photos with them I'd be a crazy camera-collecting-carrying-fondler but since I sometimes snap a photo I can get away with being a collector-user.


Answer #2
I used to take photos in order to 'catch' something that would truly mean something to me. I aspired to take photos that could explain the world I lived in - to me and maybe even to others. I liked to think that I would be able to take photos that would change the way I perceived life.

I ended up taking some pretty snap shots and walked away none the wiser.

These days 90% of my photos means very little to me. They may sometimes be 'good' when it comes to composition, subject and light - but after I've scanned them, posted them and read some comments - they easily fade from memory.

My photography has more and more become an extension of my fascination and fondness of camera equipment.

The 10% of my photography that I do care about are photos of people and places that are important to me. They partly validate my existance in that they reflect the things in life that matters to me.

 

[Pherdinand]

i don't know. I mean, i really don't.

 

[Dougg]

Because they are there... 🙂

 

[sf]

Sometimes I don't know why I do it. Sometimes I do it because I just feel the urge to use the gear. Sometimes I shoot because the pictures really mean something to me.

Sometimes, I shoot because I WANT them to mean something to me.

Really, I mostly do it because I like to remember.

and because girls are good for cameras, when they come around.

 

[Simon Larbalestier]

It is the only way i can communicate what i see and feel. Often i feel compelled to record what i see. Recent projects is driven by need to raise public awareness. Already this has begun to take effect: just last week $20,500 USD has been pledged to the Cambodia Trust as a result of viewing my PDF portfolio of the Trust's work with the disabled in Cambodia. I can't think of a better reason for me to continue making this kind of work. Photographs do raise public awareness and can make a difference to those one photographs.

 

[clarence]

That's really nice to hear, Simon. One day I hope I can do something similar as well.

For now I have to take pictures or else I feel quite miserable. It's therapeutic, or at least it just distracts me from the particular and inescapable pressures of my life.

Clarence

 

[Finder]

Because I want to.

 

[pvdhaar]

Everytime the shutter clicks, I've got the sensation of just having stolen a moment of time that can be shuttled forward into the future by having it processed/printed and looked at. It's also a challenging process as it can not be redone.. It's like running a vineyard. You enjoy harvesting good grapes now in anticipation of good wine a couple of years down the road..

As to why I post them online? Pure vanity my friends..

 

[PeterL]

I take pictures for the same reason as J.Borger: because it makes me more aware of where I am. Nowadays, I'm trying to turn it into a social thing. I've shot two rolls at a local go (board game) championship, which was very interesting. Because people were absorbed in their games, there was just a tiny amount of interaction when they looked up, but those moments were nice sometimes. I want to get that same feeling with street photography, too.

The results don't matter to me that much anymore. I used to be anxious about how it would look etc, but then the pictures would be sterile (yet another building in an okay composition etc.) Nowadays, if I have interaction, usually the picture is automatically interesting. I manage my technique well enough Composition could sometimes be a bit better, but that's what cropping is for. So now I need to do something with that technique.

EDIT: of course, I forgot the love of old mechanics and the look on the faces of people when they see me handling a camera like that 🙂


Peter.

 

[terrafirmanada]

I love the flit sound of the shutter passing by my eyes. I also like holding old well used equiptment, and maybe one day I will use it well.

 

[Robin Harrison]

"I photograph to see what things look like photographed" Gary Winogrand, 1928-1984.

I think that sums it up for me, and I would guess quite a few others.

 

[Andrew Sowerby]

I don't keep a diary so I take pictures to remember things.

 

[Brad Bireley]

It is the only way i can communicate what i see and feel. Often i feel compelled to record what i see. Recent projects is driven by need to raise public awareness. Already this has begun to take effect: just last week $20,500 USD has been pledged to the Cambodia Trust as a result of viewing my PDF portfolio of the Trust's work with the disabled in Cambodia. I can't think of a better reason for me to continue making this kind of work. Photographs do raise public awareness and can make a difference to those one photographs.

Simon,
I commend you on your work that you do!
Brad

 

[kubilai]

A proof there is something

A proof there is something

Reality is the most irreal thing. My camera is a tool that allow to verify I walked at a certain time through this special universe. And I am so happy at the moment when I take pictures than I feel more aware of it.

 

[Simon Larbalestier]

Brad thanks but i'd commend those members of the public that are motivated by images to make donations to NGO's and Charities.

 

[x-ray]

Photographs are a record of time, lifestyle and history. Change continually is happening but at such a slow speed that we don't see it from day to day. Photography allows us to take a fraction of a second and preserve that moment so that we might reflect on it in the future. We can then compare today to days in the past and see the change.

Photography is a very strong tool that allows us to share our thoughts and vision. The viewer can look through our eyes for that slit second that the shutter is open. The camera is a window into the soul with no curtains to obscure.

Photographs have the ability to make change and impact lives, good and bad.



http://www.photo.net/photos/X-Ray

 

[matti]

I really like to look at good photographs. It seems to be an artform that I can understand and apreciate. The few times I get an idea, see the picture in the viewfinder and then create the picture on paper as I intended it to look, it is pure joy. For me, the finished print is the end product. To only get a negative scan in the computer isn't very satisfying.

Now I am trying to be better at the technical stuff, so it doesn't get in the way.

But I still find looking at good pictures, like Simons Cambodia work, to be a real kick.

/matti

 

[Don Parsons]

This is a great thread!

This is a great thread!

Hi guys,

What a very philosophical (sic?) thread. Makes you stop and reflect a little.

I've been through all those reasons, except for Simon's.

Right now, I'm closest to Rich's reasons. That why I only seem to take pictures of my kids and planes-the things that are most important to me.

don