If no one sees your art, does it matter?
If you create art and no one sees it, does it matter?
That's a powerful question. And it has the capacity to wreck someone. I don't have the answer. I believe that creating art is important for the soul. It gives me an outlet. But, I also believe that there is a part of our design that gives us the ability to create so we can share it with others. So, if that's true, what's my platform for sharing my art with others?
Finding a voice is a hard thing to do. I've struggled recently with what I want to do with my photos. I've asked a lot of introspective questions. Why do I enjoy photography? Why do I make photos? What am I trying to say? Am I trying to say anything at all? Who am I shooting for?
Over the years, I've started and stopped a variety of blogs. I have no promises on what this will be. I hope to be still participating with it a month from now and even a year from now. My goal for this blog is to help me understand those questions better. I communicate more effectively with myself when I write things out. This conversation may be for you to observe, but I have decided that this blog will be for an audience of me, first.
- I don't expect the posts to be long.
- Every post will be based on a photograph.
- I'll discuss why I shot it, what it means to me, how it makes me feel.
- Some of the shots will be some of my best.
- Some aren't going to be that great at all.
- I'm not going to care if anyone reads this. In fact, I'm turning off the comments and I'm going to make myself be OK with that.
One other note. I'm not going to follow any "best practices" for a photo blog. I did a Google search for that and the results kinda made me want to throw something across the room. Photography is personal. I want to post the photos that are important to me and speak about them. I want to get in my own head and reflect on why I shot it. I'm not concerned about gear. I'm not concerned about selling Lightroom presets. Getting you to book me for your next family photo shoot is not my priority.
I want this to be honest. I want it to be raw. I want it to help me answer my own questions. The photo I've posted above effectively summarizes how I feel at the moment. There's this beautiful landscape around me and there's this road in front of me. But, do I have the confidence in myself, my work and my voice to move down it?