Blog Post # 1

Firstly, thank you for clicking through to my Blog. As it’s the first blog post it will be the least read no doubt, but hopefully you will find my ramblings on photography interesting and thought provoking.

The first thing I would like to talk about is not specifically a photography related topic but it is quickly becoming a disturbing influencer on the way some people take and see photographs in my opinion. I am talking about the “Like” culture. I have often been asked for my Instagram profile and when I tell people I am not on Instagram and have no intentions of joining they are taken aback at times. They say “how can you be a photographer and not be on Instagram?”. Well its very simple, I don’t want to be part of it. It’s one of the reasons I built a website in the first place. I wanted to have a space that I can exhibit my work, on my terms and in a way I want to.

The second comment I would make is that I see a lot of social media comments from people (and I actually had someone ask me one time), around things like “What can I do to get my photos more “Likes” on Instagram?”, or, “I seem to not get a lot of “Likes” for my photographs, what am I doing wrong?”. In my opinion if this is your attitude towards measuring your progress or satisfaction in making photographs then you need to stop and consider why you are producing work or even involved in a visual art in the first place. Photography should first and foremost be a medium for self expression and satisfaction. It is totally subjective. If others approve of what you are doing then consider it a bonus, if they don’t, move on and remember why you are doing it in the first place.

The lack of a “Like” button beside a photograph or an article like this can make some people uncomfortable due to the culture becoming so engrained in social media. What next? Do we get to the stage where on entering an exhibition we get handed a pack of post-it notes with “Like” on them for us to slap on the wall beside Photographs we “Like”? You won’t find any like buttons on this site either for photos or Blog posts. I don’t need or want them. Its up to the viewer/reader to make up their own mind. Do I ever “Like” anything I see on social media? Yes I do, but only if my reaction to what I have seen or read is genuine. I use them very sparingly.

I am also suspicious of the mechanics of what makes “likes” appear against a photograph after it has been posted. I used to be on a popular photography gallery website and noticed that as soon as my images were up loaded I instantly had about ten “Likes”. In no way could anyone have had time to find and look at the pictures in the split second it took from upload to “Likes” pouring in. My suspicion was that these were auto-generated to keep me hooked on posting images. I have also seen people award ”Likes” because they know the person, or because they “Liked” their work in return. It’s all a false measure and a very dangerous one in my opinion. It could lead to people becoming depressed, demoralised or on the other hand dangerously inflating their ego based on false adulation, all based on a “Like” culture. Do your own thing!

Thanks for reading, sorry I don’t have a comments or “Like” button, but if you want to contact me you can do using the “Contact Me” facility in the website header.

Pete

Will you be tempted to click on this?