I was stumbling across the internet today at lunch when I stumbled upon an unusual blog entry: A Gallery of Electrical Cabling Gone Wild (pingdom.com). I also recently had a discussion with my step-sister (of Ora Photography) who stated that when she’s shooting for leisure, she is naturally attracted to the ugly. I realized that you can really shoot just about anything and make it beautiful. Be it the crazy wires like this gallery or deteriorating buildings, the muse of photographer Tom Kirsch (opacity.us) – there is always going to be a way to make anything beautiful.
This revelation of course comes at a great time. This Friday, I intend to wander about the City of Philadelphia with camera-in-hand in order to focus on defining and developing my own style. I feel that I’m at a point now where I need to start focusing on what makes me stand apart from other photographers. I think you need a few ingredients in order to take that step. First, you need to know the technical aspects of the art (know your camera, know how to do what, etc). Second, I think you need some experience. How much differs for each person based on what kind of experience they have. Third, and most important, you need to be able to clearly define what interests you. I don’t think that it’s enough to say you like to shoot Architecture, for example. What about the architecture is appealing? Is it the overall form? Is it the details? I think you need to know the specifics before you can develop your own style. And before today, I’m not sure I was able to do that.
So today I learned that almost anything has the potential to be beautiful. So I will stop looking for something beautiful to photograph; and I will start looking to make something beautiful through my photography.
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