Photography

Starting up this blog has been an interesting experience for me. It really has only been a couple of weeks since I started but I find myself thinking more and more about what to blog and what parts of my life are the most interesting. I suppose that the pressure to just sit down and actually write something has not only caused me to spew forth words but also to examine my life and see the most beautiful and interesting parts of it. The fact that the pressure to write is purely in my own head doesn't seem to be an impediment to this self growth.

Apart from writing though I have also become quite interested in taking good photos to accompany my words. This is a strange development for me. Throughout my teen years I would not pick up a camera. Much to the consternation of my parents (particularly my mother), I would go away for months at a time and never take a single shot. Part of this was simple teenage rebellion. My mother loves to take pictures and I remember long periods of family gatherings being taken up with posing various groups in various positions and locations. Now I appreciate that there are photos of all the important family events and that I can look back and remember all those people but at the time I just wanted the pictures to stop. Let's face it, every teenager goes through an awkward phase and I wasn't too keen on having a lot of photographic evidence of mine. In addition to this mild teenage rebellion I just got it into my head that taking pictures wasn't really part of life. It was documenting life but doing it meant that there would always be a barrier between the photographer and the experience at hand. 

I think this way of thinking is still in the background when I go out with a camera. Is it just a bit of teenage behaviour hanging on? Maybe, but I think it's also a question of style. My favourite pictures of people are always ones that are spontaneous and that capture a moment in a person's life rather than a posed portrait. And if there are no people in the picture, I want to see a moment in the life of the photographer. I love to look at the little things and the ordinary things rather than the type of picture that could be a postcard. That's what I strive for when I take pictures. This ideal does intimidate me a little bit but in the past couple of weeks I have discovered the joy of having a delete button. I can take a hundred pictures and even if only two turn out to be any good, I never have to see the junk again. I'm adopting a new motto, just do it every day, even if you think you're terrible at it.