Once More, With Feeling
"Once More, With Feeling" is the title of an episode of popular US television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was the only musical episode in the shows's seven seasons with the cast all singing and dancing and experiencing life differently through their singing and dancing. While the episode was by no means my favourite Buffy episode, the title stayed with me.
It will be no secret to anyone who's ever visited my blog (or my Twitter or my Facebook or... you get the idea) that I enjoy taking photos, enjoy sharing the beauty of the world I live in; that I love sharing with the world some of the amazing scenery I see when I look out the window or go for a walk outside.
I take photos of that which I see around me, however what I see isn't just visual. It's influenced by what I think and feel and experience and hear and smell around me, it's not just a static image but a feeling, an impression, a sense of wonder and amazement and joy all wrapped into one.
The ultimate photographer's challenge is to show those who view my photos not just an image of something static or of one moment in time, but to convey the movement and the 'personality' of the moment. To show others what it was like to experience viewing that image first-hand; to put some of the magic of reality into a photo of one single instant in time.
I've found that lately I am more and more drawn to relatively simple photos - black and white images, trees and clouds; scenes from nature and the natural world. Unedited photographs that show the world as it actually is, not as airbrushing or editing makes it appear. The world is beautiful as it is and more amazing than we'll probably ever realise, it doesn't need to be edited before it can be shared with others.
Wanting to take 'natural' photos doesn't mean I don't like editing my photos. Editing and being able to change and doctor my photos can be extremely fun (and very helpful when it comes to editing out the scratch on my lens), however it's not what taking photos is about for me. I don't need to create a perfect image or an amazing photograph because that's not what I'm aiming for. I aim to share the world I see with others, to remind people to 'stop and smell the roses', to see the beauty of the world we live in and, just for a second, to contemplate the world beyond our daily lives.
If only more people would take the time to contemplate the beauty and the goodness in the world instead of working so hard to destroy it... If only...
It will be no secret to anyone who's ever visited my blog (or my Twitter or my Facebook or... you get the idea) that I enjoy taking photos, enjoy sharing the beauty of the world I live in; that I love sharing with the world some of the amazing scenery I see when I look out the window or go for a walk outside.
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| Photo by @Nimavenl |
The ultimate photographer's challenge is to show those who view my photos not just an image of something static or of one moment in time, but to convey the movement and the 'personality' of the moment. To show others what it was like to experience viewing that image first-hand; to put some of the magic of reality into a photo of one single instant in time.
I've found that lately I am more and more drawn to relatively simple photos - black and white images, trees and clouds; scenes from nature and the natural world. Unedited photographs that show the world as it actually is, not as airbrushing or editing makes it appear. The world is beautiful as it is and more amazing than we'll probably ever realise, it doesn't need to be edited before it can be shared with others.
Wanting to take 'natural' photos doesn't mean I don't like editing my photos. Editing and being able to change and doctor my photos can be extremely fun (and very helpful when it comes to editing out the scratch on my lens), however it's not what taking photos is about for me. I don't need to create a perfect image or an amazing photograph because that's not what I'm aiming for. I aim to share the world I see with others, to remind people to 'stop and smell the roses', to see the beauty of the world we live in and, just for a second, to contemplate the world beyond our daily lives.
If only more people would take the time to contemplate the beauty and the goodness in the world instead of working so hard to destroy it... If only...
