Why I Love Photography

I rely on no one. I can go virtually anywhere with my camera – and I do. I can take pictures of strangers, with or without their permission. I take pictures of models, actors, musicians and artists – the kind of people I prefer to strike up conversations with over a beer. I choose my subjects. And sometimes, they choose me.

I get to be outdoors, if I want. I get to be indoors, if I prefer. I can walk into strange territories and exit with a new understanding of that world. I get to relive that place for the rest of my life through the folders which make up my two-dimensional empire.

I meet new people. Many of them I like. A few of them I learn to love. And like anything else, there’s one here or there I hate. But I get to delete them from my life if I see fit. Sayonara.

If I’m in my right mind, there never is a shortage of subjects. I prefer people. I tend to neglect still life, architecture, and landscapes – but that doesn’t mean that I won’t ever find myself turning in those directions.

Let’s just say that if I have a mountain: I’d rather have a person in the foreground. Because that’s what photography is to me; it’s about people. And by extension, always about me and my rendering of their lives for whatever higher purpose calls.