A philosophical look at your photography

For those of you who have heard the classic song "Eye of the Tiger" featured in the show Rocky, you might remember there is a part that went:
 

                            "So many times, it happens too fast
                              You change your passion for glory
                              Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
                              You must fight just to keep them alive"
 

Now, before you feel I am getting corny by listing lyrics from songs and feeling all mushy, think about that paragraph again. Does it apply to you as well ?
 
 

I thought hard and long about it. I tried to recall what drew me to photography in the first place, and what I did in the beginning years. Then I thought of the factors that drive me to take photos today. I looked through everything that I have done in the past few years. The changes were startling to say the least. Until now, I have never bothered nor did I have the time to sit down and evaluate my trajectory in photography. And I guess, neither have most of us.
 
 

When I first started out quite a long way back, my goal was simple - to produce properly exposed pictures with what I have. Looking back, this is perhaps the closest to the purest goal of photography, which is to make the best pictures with what you have. My equipment was limited to a single SLR and one lens. It was years down before I could afford a cheap 70-210 lens. During that period, my sole aim was to make decent and properly exposed images. I spent hours pouring over whatever books and references there was (okay, nobody even remotely heard of the Internet at that time). I attended my club's meeting religiously, taking down every single notes and tips. In fact, I've never received any awards for photography. The closest thing to an award I've received was a small trophy my club gave me, for being "the most regular member who took down the most notes". It might sound laughable, but that trophy served to inspire me to learn more about photography than anything else. It might just be a small token of appreciation, but the value of recognition by others is perhaps the strongest form of encouragement one could ever receive.
 
 

I would shoot rolls of film and process them at the neighbourhood mini-lab. They were not excellent pictures, but they showed gradual improvements. My equipment were simple at that time, a Nikon SLR with a couple of lenses. Over time, I bought more accessories such as a flash, cable release and a tripod. Nothing fanciful, just equipment that allowed me to take pictures in situations which I previously couldn't. My pictures began to improve, and I had a few good shots to show. The encouragement from others spurred me to continue photography. I learnt from my own experience that such encouragement was vital to promoting confidence, and until today I would never put anyone down by condemning their pictures. Any criticism would be bolstered by an evaluation of the good points of the image first.

At that stage, I was happy. Photography was a hobby to me. I was happy with my pictures, and so were the people around me. Although I spent money on film and processing, photography was still relatively cheap. My equipment was better than the average beginner, though it was definitely no top-of-the-line stuff. I made do with the things I had, and occasionally added a filter or two. Photography was my passion.

Then I started looking at other's work. I compared my images with those I have seen in competitions. I browsed through books and magazines, and found the similarities in prints that are successful. In the pursue of recognition, I wanted people to look at my images and say that they are great. I wanted to know what made certain images appeal to people, and desperately wanted to emulate them, regardless of whether I liked them myself. Unknowingly, I have traded my passion for glory.
 
 

It was a turning point in my photography life. I scrutinize the competition prints, as well as popular works, to determine what works and what did not. The lesson was most enlightening. I discovered colour harmony, contrast, lighting effect, compositional creativity I had never known about. However, I also lost something vital - individuality. My images began to resemble that of everyone else's. At that point in time, it seemed like a good thing. Being similar to the award winning prints was to emulate the best, was it not ? What could be so bad about striving to copy the leader ?
 
 

Those were not my photos. They were not me. For a few years, I adored the popular styles that won recognition. My photography no doubt improved quite a bit by learning many techniques that the leading photographers used. However, the trade off was apparent in the loss of individuality. I became the human Xerox machine, trying to pull off a copy of the winning images. I had failed to recognize the human element behind the technicalities. In my pursuit for technical excellence, I did not realize that the winning prints had the character of the photographer in them. By copying the images wholesale, I gained technical competence and lost my individual style. But I was not the only one. Hordes of photographers fall head over heels in trying to emulate the winning styles, to win awards and recognition. They may have succeed in making award-winning prints, but did they inject personality into their images. The acid test of such attitudes is simply this question : "Can anyone tell this is my image by looking at it ?" Or is the image so hopelessly stereotypical that the first thought that comes to the viewer's mind is " What a nice picture. Where have I seen it before ?"
 
 

I was jolted to reality when I saw my prints next to others in a exhibition. I could hardly tell my prints from the rest. Other than recognizing the individual images, they were remarkably similar to the rest. They were fine images on their own, but nothing remarkable about them at all. I could have switched nametags on the images and it would still seem alright !! I decided on the spot that I would reclaim back my individuality by making images that appeal to me, and which were distinctly me.
 
 

There is nothing wrong with emulating the best. It is only when you blindly follow the leader without critically evaluating the process, that the entire objective is lost. You have tried to copy the best in order to be like them, but there is no place for two of the same kind. You have to develop your own styles to distinguish yourself from the pack, if you ever hope to become someone. Learning of techniques is fine and should be encouraged, but wholesale imitation only leads to reproduction of what might have been another's work. However, if you go to the other extreme, you merely end up choosing to be different just to different. It's your choice.
 
 

Have you traded your passion for glory ?

Post questions on forum  

E-mail comments to author