The way I see it Part 1 of 2

To religiously follow a single theory, path or celebrity has never made much sense to me – photography included.

Logically, it has made more sense to utilize the best of what I find, see and experience for what it is worth. I take a bit from everything and everyone when it seems clear to do so. I add them to my knowledge base as bits of information and mull them over with all the rest of what I learn. It all becomes part of my dataset. It all becomes part of my understanding and only makes sense when I believe it to be truth.

Camera clubs, Facebook, Flickr, twitter groups and the like, seem to pigeonhole themselves into categories of photographic users, styles, rules, practices and followings. There are specific groups who love making images that emulate their idols and their methods. For example, there are those who attempt to make images that resemble the works of Garry Winogrand or Lee Friedlander. I am sure there are those who mirror Eliot Porter, Dorothea Lange, Edward Weston or perhaps Eugene Atget. While admiration is one thing, inspiration and imitation are very different things.

Admiration allows us to learn from what we experience. Inspiration provides incentive, which should spark new thinking. While imitation is considered “the sincerest form of flattery”, it is a simulation, or reproduction of another person’s creativity. It is a mirror image in style and method.

Although I admire most of the great photographers throughout its history, I do not believe every word or every concept produced by any one photographer. Like the rest of us, they are only human. What makes them great is their ultimate vision, their consistency and their skill at allowing us to envision what they see, what they know, or how they think. In that respect, they deserve to be on a pedestal, to be seen, to be appreciated and to be the shining examples that they are. They have achieved what we seek to find. It is why they are considered the masters.

Unlike what some might think, the greats are not gods. They are instead, exceptional models. Their work is a way of seeing. They happen to have a view of things that most of us do not. They see the world in a different light. I see them as great examples for what is possible and what is next. They have simply found their own paths and shared it with us in intensely remarkable ways.

Ansel Adams is a prime example. While I can and do admire his use of all-inclusive detail and sharpness, his methods of exposure and his spiritually rich images, I see his practice as basically another way to produce photographs. I do not make him into a photographic god. I see him as one of many masters from which I can learn. His works were simply his way of finding himself. It is not my place to imitate his works. It is not my place to impersonate his art.

It is however, very much my place to understand what his work attempts to show me. In doing so, I am allowing the work to function as it is meant to function. It is in my place to employ his guidance as a way for me to begin seeing the world in a new way, in a new light. In that sense, he is an inspiration, a teacher and a master.

The same is true with the rest of the photographers whom I admire. For the most part, the works they offer are either asking questions or presenting answers. Copying their styles or their theories as if it were the ultimate approach is not a good way to follow in art or photography or life. In doing so, you may well miss the point.

My personal goal is to avoid producing a likeness to what others are doing creatively. I try to use what I learn from the work of others to expand my own vision. I attempt to understand the relationships, the subjects, what they represent and how the works shape my understanding of the image-makers viewpoint, beliefs and values. My goal like most of theirs is a personal and spiritual journey. I want my work to be as successful as theirs, but in my way, and with my unique vision.

Continue to part 2

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