Photography is consumed at a considerably larger scale than ever before thanks to the Internet, yet the appreciation for the art of it is not proportional to these changes. It’s quite vexing that photography once was an esteemed, genuine art form in the public’s eye yet now is something we expect to see every time we open up our phones. But, if we see low quality, poorly composed photos, we mock it. On the other hand, photos that are museum-worthy are overlooked for someone’s travel photos laden with cutesy filters. Our eyes are trained to expect a specific type of photo and many of us expect nothing different. It has become something artistically undervalued and socially commonplace.

Here’s the thing, too– I don’t want to bash Instagram travel bloggers who actually get pretty cool shots or that person who dresses their cat up in costumes to be enjoyed by the masses. They’re diverting and they fill me with wanderlust and positive thoughts, but I am not looking at them through the mental lense I’d look at a photo in an art gallery or as something I’d hang on my walls. Producing such content is an art in itself, but it is not the same photographic art we know, and therefore I cannot consider it entirely as such. When looking at the standard Instagram photo, I am, in essence, consuming the thing in the photo without considering the fact that the photo is the shiny, two-dimensional window I’m pressing my face against. When I do have that thought and take a step back from the window, I often discover that the photos themselves are nothing that extraordinary. 

When I meet someone who is truly interested in “photography,” it takes zero effort to point out stylistic decisions and creative liberties they took, possibly debate the meaning, and describe the emotions they evoke, give or take since there are different types of photography. (I mean, I don’t think I’d really debate the meaning of pictures of birds, for instance, unless there was something else to it. I don’t want to get into talking about scientific photography here, because that has a set purpose all on its own, but if it is “good” bird photography then it would at the least bring about some sort of feeling.) It is still an art form, but many don’t take the time to see it that way.

I personally take photos for different reasons. Maybe I need to snap a shot of a sign so I don’t forget crucial information or of a book cover at the store to scroll back to next time I am looking for a new title. Maybe I see something pretty or just want to remember the place in time I am currently at. Maybe I wander in the woods for hours taking a gazillion photos of the same thing with only minor changes on each, letting my creative juices flow. When I say photography is an art form I partake in, it is the very last of the things I mentioned that I consider “my photos.” The ratio of “my photos” to the photos I take is heavily skewed, very few with the intention of being photography. If you, reader, have looked at my Instagram, I’d like to tell you that not everything there is “my photos.” Sometimes I just want an aesthetically pleasing photo there to fill people with wanderlust and positive thoughts, and there is no shame in that. Yet, you do not see me considering that my “gallery” and it is why I made a Flickr account to post things I felt sorta proud of.

I also print my pictures. Not often, mind you, but I do. I arranged some of “my photos” from my Spain trip and had it printed as a poster for my room. I also print my travel pictures 4×6 style and put them in a photo album. I haven’t shown them to many people as those are not “my photos,” but rather things I want to remember from my trip. When I get my own apartment, which is coming up soon, I’ll be blowing up some of my cooler shots for wall decor. 

But I write this too to tell you of the little project I had for myself. I personally like film cameras, whether instant, Polaroid, or your standard “before we had digital cameras” type. My grandfather was a professional photographer and I find something quite magical about the process of developing your photos in your darkroom in the basement, bringing to life moments in time now passed. Or even my mom, taking plenty of photos of our happy moments together when I was a child and arranging them into books for me, with the backs of each having little notes about the day. Of course, I haven’t used a film camera in some time, and although I plan to again one day, I have been making up for it by simply skipping to the end result of having printed photos. I downloaded a HUJI camera app for my phone and since about summer of 2020 I’ve been taking pictures of things that make me happy or that I don’t want to forget, and now is the time I get to organize it into a little yearbook for myself. I am going to stop this post here since this was more of a rant, but part 2 will detail my little year long project and introduce my next.

Happy reading,
-Beppa