As Ansel Adams states, “There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.” In other words, there is no right or wrong photo that can be taken. I was opened to a new opportunity and knowing me, I had to take it. I was given the task, take one to two photos from October 14th to the 20th. However, nothing is that simple. It’s not just any photo and it couldn’t just be a silly photo of a sky, food, beverage, building, painting or anything really “unnecessary” in my eyes. You see photography is an art, and all art has meaning to the person who creates it. That’s what makes art, “art.” It may have a deeper meaning than a typical Snapchat filter or it may not. I decided to take on this task. Quickly grabbed my iPhone and just let life happen. I didn’t want to force just any photo because it had to have meaning and it had to be something magical. These are no photographs for just the average eye, it takes a deeper thought and a real dig into my reality to understand that each one of these photos, are everything to me. This was no longer a project, but an eye opener.
That’s photography. The words and descriptions mean nothing to me. What matters is the photos. Taking each one of these photos I didn’t hope for everyone to understand each and every photo but to understand the theme. The smaller things in life and bigger things equal motivation. Small things such as beaches and sunsets all the way to big things like friends and family to motivate me for my true passion.
Individually, each photo shows you my everyday life, no filter and no amazing cinematography. No need to be extra or put the extra effort in to show you only half of the real story. I want to portray the raw and full image of each photo which is why individually they do the job and together they sparkle. I believe that if you take away the originality of the photography itself, you take away the story as a whole. Just like Susan Sontag states “Photographs really are experience captured, and the camera is the ideal arm of consciousness in its acquisitive mood.” I take this quote to heart for every photo that is portrayed, the camera isn’t what makes the photography, but the photographer. It took more than just an iPhone and a walk down the park or a quick snapchat in the gym to really display a meaning. It took an opening and a secret part of my life that I don’t just share with every other person. Photography has given me the chance to open up emotionally through simple acts of taking a photo, which has in change helped me see other possibilities in life. There is no need to back up emotion when you can display it through art, I owe this to something as modern as a camera.
The individuality of the photos are the beat. But to make the beat into a beautiful melody, they must all work together. The choices and decisions I made into each photo was to tell a story. The flow of my daily life in just the time span of a week shows more than just a sunset and friends. It shows the emotional support I rely on from friends and family to go through each day and the emotional support I crave each and every time I practice for a big lift. In other words, it flows. Good moments with good friends turns friends into family which in turn, makes them a building block to my success.
And on a final note, I encourage you, the reader, to continue, if not, start looking at things through another set of eyes. That set being a camera lens or any lens in general. I understand that you may be missing the experience as a whole but for that split second, you’re creating more than a 1080-pixel image. You’re creating a memory and better yet, a story. A story that can tell more than just a thousand words but express a thousand emotions and motivate a thousand other people to create a thousand more photos. I hope everyone takes their hand at it if they haven’t and if you have, continue doing what you love and use these photos are inspiration for more photos. To go out and look at the world from more than just two eyes.
