Why Start Photography In 2024?
You already have. At least, you almost certainly have, by definition. Chances are last time you went somewhere fun, you took a photo of the scene; or maybe when you were at a restaurant, you took a photo of your food (because you wanted to brag about your delicious meal, of course). What I’m trying to say is, most everybody takes pictures every single day.
But that’s probably not why you clicked on this article. You’re probably wondering why you should create art—making things with a camera—a dedicated camera, not your phone.
Well, this is a fun question, and I’m going to keep it short for my first blog post.
Because we need you to. Who’s we, you ask? Humanity, maybe? Everybody knows we’re not short of people’s opinions and viewpoints, these days, but showing the world the way you see it to the people surrounding you will be more than just sharing an opinion on the latest hit movie at the theatre; it will be more than sharing that political opinion you’ve been practicing on the shower walls for the past few weeks. Why? Because when you share these things, no one’s listening. Oh, they hear you alright—but they’re not listening. You fade into the background and hustle and bustle of everything else—and if there’s nothing else going on, then your opinion floats around their ears behind all the other thoughts that waltz around their glazed-over eyes. But, when you show someone a photograph, you’re presenting the world with the world the way you see it in a way that is much more difficult to ignore.
But, what if you don’t want to share your art? Great. Don't . Just make it for you. Make a scrapbook full of the casual photographs you took at the beach that one day; fill a shoebox with the memories from the carnival, or maybe you could even hang them on strings around your apartment—connecting them all together with other strings, so that when people come over to your place, they’ll think you’re out of your mind (for a laugh. you should probably tell them you’re not dangerous).
Photography will remain a very important medium, whether it’s shared with the world, or if it’s just kept in shoebox to look at when you’re old and doddery.
Need more persuasion? Chances are, if you’re asking yourself if you should start, you probably should (source: trust me).
Until next time,
-Rue