I just ate things I can’t identify. Breakfast in the ryokan. Kyoto a nice break from the bustle of Tokyo. Overtourism is a thing now, especially in the Show Me Age. Famous shrines, disgruntled Italians, surly from the reality they are not alone. She dressed up for show and the online fans, he dancing to get her clean in the historic background. Here to get the shot that everyone else already has. Grown men pose for each other, chests out, clothing just right. Look casual but inside they are burning with the need for acceptance. Half a world away but connected to the same minutia of the couch back home.
But the job of the photographer is to cover.
Everything. What presents itself. Find a visual path forward and stick to it. Most often this requires adaptation. This is the fun part, but it can also be frustrating, at least at the beginning. At least until your words and images begin to reveal things you didn’t see at first. “Ah, there it is.” “I had an epiphany,” someone says. Yes. That is the reason to come with us. But don’t get me wrong, photography is difficult and needs to be learned.
This is the part that often gets overlooked today. There is SO much information available. About everything except the images. All of us must learn how we see. Your framing isn’t my framing. You see light differently than I do. We each tell our own stories. The ONLY way forward is consistent, dedicated practice. And then the tightening of the editing screws. Merciless. Accepting reality. Most of what we do isn’t good.
What I love about this job, photography, is that ultimately it’s about solitude. Even if you are a people person like me. People person while working that is. Not in real life. Engage, engage, engage, but walking away you find yourself back in the landscape of your mind. Just you. Just me. Each in our own realm. I feel sorry for the “post-er’s.” The “shoot and share” folks who feel that crushing weight. Living alone with your work without anyone else is such a key part to getting better. You just have to give it a chance.
Living a life through the lens is a rewarding experience. Sometimes, the camera works as a shield, but most of the time the camera brings us closer to the world around us. It allows us to see in high-resolution detail. Louping the world, so-to-speak. Inching along. Inspecting the details. Looking for patterns and memories.
Comments 12
Wonderful last paragraph, Dan.
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Thanks Darrell!
That is one cool freaky picture
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That place is wild.
Perhaps “shooting the shooters” would be a worthwhile project in itself. A series. Not one I myself would like to make, but still interesting to look at and with a point too. Personally, I like moody weather, so off-season is fine with me. But in some places, there just is no off-season, and entire societies that never used to travel are traveling in droves. So be it. Stay flexible with subjects or find yourself without one.
Author
Yes, you have to adapt. Over tourism is a thing, driven in great part by social media addicts, but thankfully they are now being seen as the scourge they are.
“What I love about this job, photography, is that ultimately it’s about solitude.” I love that sentence. And that last paragraph… perfection! Lucky are we who decided to ever pick up a camera and use it to see.
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Yes, agree. We are the inspectors of the world.
Kyoto is nice but there are some way nicer temples around with nobody in them! Hope you are enjoying your trip!
Author
I’m sure. We loved Kyoto. Especially when you get a few blocks away from the tourist heavy areas. Also loved Osaka.
“What I love about this job, photography, is that ultimately it’s about solitude.”
This was, to me, the most thought provoking remark in your post. Because ALL photography is performed in solitude.
It doesn’t matter if you are a seasoned professional on assignment, an irritating YouTuber doing a run and gun, or a Dad taking yet another snapshot of Aunt Martha in front of the Grand Canyon. The goals, standards, training, and sense of timing may vary widely, but each is entirely alone in choosing when to press the shutter.
Author
It’s true. There is that moment of retreat into the viewfinder.