Notes from the Photo Revolution

More on becoming a photo-author

Maasai near Mt Kilimanjaro (background), southern Kenya. Authorship note — I was on a wildlife drive recently in a national park but I’m a terrible wildlife photographer. Ideas and intentions are important. Mine center on people, our relationship with the environment, and not wanting to do what others do (like posing the Maasai, which also usually involves paying them). So I jumped when I recognized this as ‘my’ photo. [All photos © Bill Crandall]

“Are you serious? How can photography be a revolutionary act? I thought you said photography sucks!”

Ok, yes, in my last post I led with ‘we don’t need more photographers’ and ‘most photography sucks’.

Which of course was meant to provoke but it’s unfortunately true. We have way more photography than ever and most (not all) of it is more or less interchangeable. Photographers — plus everyone with a phone camera in their pocket, which is almost everyone in the developed world — seem to be lining up to take the same photos as everyone else.

Traffic jam near cheetahs, southern Kenya. Authorship note — Everyone’s there to take a particular photo. So I wanted a photo of that. Find your inner contrarian. (Yes, ok, I got the cheetahs too…)

My argument was that we need more photo-authors, whose work is centered on their unique vision and informed by their ideas and sensibility, like many of those considered ‘greats’ in the past. I believe this is an approach anyone can take, regardless of their experience and skill level, if they want their work to be rewarding and to stand out.

It’s about making your work better by making it more you.