Why do you take pictures? I mean, really?

[planetjoe]

Now That I Think About It...

Now That I Think About It...

My reasons are both primal and refined, in a matter of speaking. Of course, you may take this explanation with the requisite grain of salt.

I love using cameras because I crave the feel of technology - my love for mechanical RFs is a natural extension of that fundamental "fetish", if you will.

Actually firing the shutter and making images, on the other hand, comes from somewhere more cerebral, I think. It's a selfish act, in which I create something from available materials (i.e., light) that no-one else can. In a way, I do it so that others can see what I saw - not that they would necessarily care to, but still.

It's an unrequited, private act of possession.


Cheers,
--joe.

 

[gbremer]

Each time I take a picture I hope for something more than a recording of what I pointed the camera at. I don't know why, but I feel driven to do this.

 

[einolu]

Maybe that question is the destination and the photography is the journey.

 

[biomed]

This is a difficult question to answer. I believe that the main reason I take pictures is the enjoyment that is derived from producing an image that speaks to me. I tend to like surreal photgraphs that give a view that is not normally seen. A lot of my photography is an escape from reality or maybe it is an escape to reality. Simon, I really enjoyed the galleries on your website and I admire you for the difference you have made!

Mike

 

[biomed]

Actually firing the shutter and making images, on the other hand, comes from somewhere more cerebral, I think. It's a selfish act, in which I create something from available materials (i.e., light) that no-one else can. In a way, I do it so that others can see what I saw - not that they would necessarily care to, but still.

It's an unrequited, private act of possession.


Cheers,
--joe.

Well said, Joe.

 

[dadsm3]

For me, it was always about being the family chronicler (is that a word?)....later, it has come to be my escapist hobby, actually walking around with my camera, trying to 'see' like a photgrapher, the thrill of the wet negs fresh out of the tank, and the chance to learn and talk with you guys....our long winters no longer hold the dread they used to, it just means I can be in the DR earlier without taping windows.
But mainly, it's the chance that someone as profoundly inartistic as myself may have the chance, some day, to produce something that may be construed as artistic by others. That dim and distant goal will keep me shooting for many years....
Mike

 

[Simon Larbalestier]

This is a difficult question to answer. I believe that the main reason I take pictures is the enjoyment that is derived from producing an image that speaks to me. I tend to like surreal photgraphs that give a view that is not normally seen. A lot of my photography is an escape from reality or maybe it is an escape to reality. Simon, I really enjoyed the galleries on your website and I admire you for the difference you have made!

Mike

Mike thanks. The galleries on my site have all been revamped with a proper link to the Cambodia Trust and large print sale of Pixies images will be offered from which a % of proceeds will be donated to the Trust. My Pixies images from the late 80's still keep selling and i figured it's a good way to try to channel money towards the Trust. The site will hopefully be all changed by the end of the week.

 

[lushd]

I get this itch that will only be scratched by pushing a shutter release. Otherwise it just nags me and I can't rest.

 

[Hamster]

Because exsistence is dynamic, but my desire is static. Still photography preserve a moment in time where wish fulfillment is acheived. In other words "to remember".

 

[sf]

I guess it also depends on what kind of photography I'm doing. If I'm shooting landscapes, it's just for the aesthetic value. non-people street scenes. . . I have a bunch in my gallery . . .are a nice way for me to displace myself when the times comes. I have the image now, and I can look at it and sort of put myself there again.

People photography has a more complicated set of reasons. They change from day to day. I think people are interesting, and it's nice to capture a moment that really shows depth in the subject.

I could also add that the process if part of the reason. I really enjoy the operation of the camera, buying gear, selling gear, buying film, developing it, scanning it and printing it. Or just posting it. I like the productive nature of this hobby.

 

[raid]

Raid, that sounds like a Hokie reason to me! 😀



That alone is a superb reason to photograph. I pray she remains safe there.

Virginia Tech Hokies! You are right, of course. They were doing really poorly when I was there, but they became quite good when I left Tech. Thanks.

 

[sf]

First because I enjoy using well made and designed archaic tools from an other time.
Second because I'm always amazed when I take the film out of developer tank that the exposures were correct and the alchemy of it all came together to create these negatives.
Thirdly the rush I get watching the creation of a new print as it appears in the developer tray.
Number Four is finding the right combination of exposure time, aperture and what ever else is needed to make the best print I can.
And lastly getting someone to acknowledge it even if they hate it.

I like your perspective on the process. I kind of miss that very fulfilling step in the darkroom.

 

[jan normandale]

Here goes. I take photographs because the world is changing. I don’t know where each of you live however I live in a very dynamic environment. Change is fast and it’s daily. Hesitate for a moment and that moment is gone whether it is a field, building, road, people, homes, power plants, factories, historic buildings they are …. gone. Not only that but new plants, roads, homes, offices are going up with equal speed.

I want to assemble visuals that will show what this environment was and what it is now. I go to libraries and realize that what is new today is old tomorrow.

I am also a painter and printmaker. I shoot with the camera for similar effects. As far as I am concerned film is better than digital images. This may not be true in the future but for this moment it is. I am moving towards larger sheets of film to enable large scale photographs to be printed which upon close inspection show more detail than digital or 35mm.

X ray covered off most of the other reasons that are important to me and explain my interest in photography.

 

[Ariya]

Winogrand had several good quotes I can relate to, but I think it's the insatiable urge to create something is why I shoot.
Sometimes it's just the act of pressing the shutter, sometimes it's when I see the negs dripping wet with photo-flo that I'm satisfied, either way it's an addiction.

todd

I agree with Todd. I want to create something, and hopefully something beautiful.

 

[edodo]

I do take pictures to capture on film a spatial composition made by mother nature or human intelligence. I like to take those pictures because if I don't I feel like I'm missing something...

 

[Max Power]

'Cos I get a kick out of the entire process. From purchasing the film, to loading my 35mm casettes, to loading the camera, to framing, to mentally determining how I want to expose, to exposing the frame, to prepping the film for processing to measuring my chemistry, do the developing process to seeing the magic of the negatives for the first time to creating prints.

It's the whole process and I do it for myself, nobody else. It is my refuge, and I get immense satisfaction out of it.

Kent

 

[x-ray]

Don, perfectly put. I wish i could write with such clarity.

OOPS! Used up my one thought for the year! Writing was never one of my strengths.

Thanks Simon! By the way your B&W mag. spread is superb. Too bad there are so many miles between us. I'd love to meet you. Keep up the great work.

 

[oftheherd]

Virginia Tech Hokies! You are right, of course. They were doing really poorly when I was there, but they became quite good when I left Tech. Thanks.

You must have left just in time. 😀

While my daughter was there they were doing quite well with their Beamer Ball. Still not doing so bad, Markus Vick excepted. Besides a degree in PS, she was in the VTCC. Always enjoyed driving there and staying for a weekend. It may have seemed different to you sort of stranded there.

 

[kmack]

Because I can't draw or paint worth spit.

 

[ed1k]

I'm taking pictures because I can.
Eduard.