‘Finding Deeper Meaning in Photography’
I’ve had an email sitting in my inbox since December 18th (which might be a record for my typical Inbox Zero ways) and that’s CJ Chilvers’ writings on ‘Finding Deeper Meaning in Photography’.
I’ve left it available for this long because the short but sweet post is very much up my alley, and I didn’t want to forget the encouragement within. Since the post was written in mid-December I’ve been in the process of going dim and letting go, which subsequently resulted in a break from photography. Chilver’s inspiring missive on going deeper with the craft felt a bit ill-timed on a personal level, but I knew that I’d come back to it later.
Now that I’m slowly but surely getting back into the habit of creating, it finally felt like the right time to consider the thoughts within — and I’m glad I did. Chilvers argues for appreciating the present instead of focusing on your past library of images and accomplishments. As someone who just came off an amazing trip through Europe, this is much needed advice.
When you document a world that isn’t your own and move quickly from place to place, every photo can feel magical, and it can feel incredibly hard to go back to a more static environment. It is easy to judge every photo by the photo which came before it, but this is undoubtably a mistake. Instead, each image should be judged by the moment which it was made to capture. This changes our perspective, and allows us to appreciate everything that is in front of us. I am of the opinion that there is no such thing as a bad photo, if the photo has meaning which can be ascribed to it.
As Chilvers says:
We’re photographing for now, not later.
Whatever inhibits the appreciation of the moment must be abandoned, even if that means downgrading your gear or leaving your camera at home. Only use what helps you enjoy the present, because that’s all we’ve got.
Living in the present can be more challenging than we realize. This seems to be a lesson I learn again and again in the month of January, as I reassess my actions and routines. I learned that social media takes me out of the moment, pulling me into someone else’s life, which will never be as powerful as my own experiences. I learned that writing brings me into the moment, forcing me to reflect to my life and my decisions in a new way. I learned that photography has the ability to both take me in or out, depending on my mentality.
In 2017, I want to choose to live in the present, and for photography that means remembering to never look back when I should only be looking through my viewfinder.
I want to create for ‘now’.
