Why Photography?

I don't know why photography, its just somethng I have always done. It can't be a genetic thing because no one else in my family shares this passion, but somehow I do feel its in my blood. Its part of who I am. I have no favourite subject, I just photograph what I see. I don't have an arty background, I studied the social sciences and nursing at university. All I can say is that like Sue, photography offers me an escape from the stresses and emotional baggage of nursing. Nothing else can take me away from myself and those pressures than raising a camera to my eye. I just mentally get myself into that zone where I am only conscious of my subject, everything else just disappears. It kind of sets me free. I guess for, for me, that's why photography.
 
The remark was made about a statement that I made and I never though to it in the “pejorative connotation.” If I had I would have gone ballistic and started shooting :rolleyes:. I thought of selfish as concerned chiefly with one's own personal pleasure and indeed that is why I do photography. The only problem is often there is not as much pleasure but more obsession in doing it.

Now to unselfish photography, if you overlook making money, I did that for three years. Shooting portraits, weddings, products and anything that other people wanted and needed to be photographed. In the beginning I took pride in it as I was good at it but after a while it became only a way to put bread on my table, it had become a job in the worst sense. Duplicating 250 slide shows may be profitable but it was not artistically rewarding. I found a more interesting job and gave up “unselfish photography” and now practice selfish photography.

If others like my images it gives me a glow and I am certainly happy for them but in the end I am taking the images for me and if I like or dislike them it is my visions I have to answer too.

Oh and I do, post and show my images and give lectures but this, again, is more about me. In the end the only unselfish act I do with my photography is teach.

I think a lot of this comes down to our definitions of 'selfish' and 'unselfish' and how we measure them.

Do we mean 'selfish' as in focused on our own pleasure and benefit? Do we mean selfish as in focused on our own needs to get a shot and not be concerned with others?

And the issue with a negation like 'unselfish' is that by definition, it encompasses everything that is not selfish, which includes things like altruism, generosity, consideration of others, but also seemingly unrelated qualities like violence, ecology, colourful, black and white, etc.

Grant's mention of money and a job in photography can be viewed in a few ways: because you get paid, it's not purely 'unselfish' but more of a transaction. They give you money, you give them photos that make them look good. If we say the mere presence of a self that takes photos means that no act of photography is unselfish, then that applies to everything, everywhere. Nothing is unselfish as it involves the actions of a self. This becomes a bit of a silly exercise.

My personal photography is primarily about me. It serves no purpose other than to create something that I like. If my family and friends like what I shoot then that is a bonus but not generally the intention. Shooting for clients is about both of us, because I have a certain style and I also aim to match what the client wants. I never shoot to highlight a social condition or anything like that.
 
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