This is part of what keeps me doing it. Every now and then I see a bit of street photography that strikes me as really interesting art - right NOW! And I love it when that happens. But most of what I see and pretty much ALL of what I shoot, is just basically good documentary shooting that is sort of cool to see now but I think will be VERY cool to look back through in 20 years when times and architecture and cars and fashion and hairstyles and everything else probably will have changed quite a bit and today's stuff will be an interesting document of this particular period. I know when I look at Vivian Maier's recently unearthed work, some of it strikes me as very artistic, but an awful lot of it just strikes me as VERY good documentary work and completely nails her time and place(s). And since I have some very distant memories of the later part of the period she was shooting, its an absolute trip and a pleasure to go back through it and remember it visually a little bit better. And its the thought that my work might do something similar at some point, even if it's just for my kids and grandkids eyes, is a bit part of what keeps me at it. Plus, I enjoy the process immensely. But I don't have any huge ambitions for what I do - just that it may serve as a small part of the record of what life looks like and feels like at this point in time for those who either don't experience or who will need help remembering it...
So I like DOING it now, but I suspect I'll like LOOKING at it more later...
-Ray