Many of my blog posts are inspired by either something I have seen, read or heard recently. One such item was a YouTube video by “The Photographic Eye”, sorry I don’t know the chap’s name. In the video he discussed whether people actually need to see your work to validate you as a photographer? It’s an interesting concept and something that will mean different things to people of past and current generations.
In the early days of my photography journey the only people who would see my work (the photos I chose to show that is), were immediate family or the people of whom I took the photos of. The odd shot would make it into a camera club competition and that’s it. I have boxes full of prints in my loft that I produced in the darkroom that have not seen the light of day for decades. I am comfortable with that and have no immediate desire to get them all out to show people to see what they think of them. In a way I believe that they stand testament to my committent to being an (amateur) photographer. Contrast that with today’s culture where photos get posted on-line within seconds of them being taken. There is no vetting process or editing in many instances, it’s just imperative to get the image out there and wait for the “Likes” to come flooding in. Little emphasis is given to the quality or aesthetic appeal of the image, just get it on-line!
I must admit however there are certain times when I will take a photo with my iPhone and post it on-line in say Facebook very quickly. Before posting however I will do a quick edit to correct squint horizons or crop. I want people to enjoy looking at them. They are not “like-chasers”, they are merely record shots. I also hear of people who post x number of shots on Instagram every day as their followers expect to see their work on a regular basis, and the photographer on his side, would hate to lose followers. I also see people posting on Facebook photography groups on regular basis and to me their work is totally unremarkable, often accompanied by a quirky title to try and justify why they took it and what we should be looking at. The content is one thing, but the need to regularly post photos, good, bad or indifferent seems to consume people and somehow seems to satisfy the need for them to be recognised as a photographer.
As I mentioned I have boxes of work in the loft and only I know what is in them. I have all the negatives too. A few years ago I decided after 40+ years to share some of that work on my website and by way of printing Zines containing some of the work. My primary objective was to to share this with people. There was no effort to look for plaudits or some form of recognition, I just wanted people to share in what I had been doing with my camera back in the 70s and 80s. It would have made no difference if I had not done that and left the negatives un-scanned. I knew the body of work was there and that was good enough for me. In a way if had left them un-scanned they would have been more personal to me but I decided to share.
A good example of this is the work of Vivian Maier. An unknown nanny in New York who, it turns out, was photographing the streets of New York and Chicago for 40 years without anyone but her knowing about the body of work she had created.It wasn’t until just before her death in 2007 that she gained the recognition she deserved. Her work is outstanding but she never really felt the need to proclaim every day, “Look at the photos I took today and tell me if you like them”. She just went about her craft in the knowledge that although she was not a recognised photographer to the outside world, she was very much a photographer in herself, and felt no need to exhibit or chase recognition on a daily basis. You can read more about Vivian Maier in Blog Post #43.
Out and about
Another interest of mine is Britain’s railways, and in particular the historical aspects. A few weeks ago a neighbour of mine mentioned he had found some disused railway sheds in a nearby wood and would I like to go see them. I saw this as a good opportunity to find out more about local railway history and take some pictures. I won’t bore you with the historical aspects, but the railway line went into decline after the war and closed in 1982. I was astounded by how fast nature takes over and completely engulfed the sheds, sidings and infrastructure. It also became a location the local youths would make their own and “tag” the walls. Here are a few shots of the visit, including a Google Maps view of the location. It was challenging due to the low light under the tree canopy but I think they turned out well.
I hope you have enjoyed this blog post and thank you for reading it. If you want to comment on this blog post please do so below or you can contact me by using the “Contact Me” facility in the website header.
