A Disclaimer of Sorts

For the record, I don’t consider myself an outstanding photographer, nor an especially fine writer. But I do enjoy both photographing and writing, and I’m recently retired, so in this blog, I'll endeavor to write about photography.

There is a well-worn quote of uncertain origin, “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” We could just as well say “Writing about photography is like singing about baseball” if, by photography, we mean creating compelling images with a camera.*

Of course, if photography means to us all the minutiae of working a camera, then using a computer program or mixing chemical baths and sloshing things around in them to create an image, then there is plenty to write about, and it makes sense to do so. That has already been done ad nauseam.

Any attempt to distill the meaning of a photograph, or a series of photographs, in words is likely to degenerate into some sort of psychobabble. That said, I'm of the belief that there IS room to use language to probe around the edges of the deeper aspects photographs and the act of photographing.

In this blog I'll endeavor to say something of value on the creation of aesthetically pleasing photographs, and I'll share some anecdotes regarding my own experiences in attempting to make meaningful photographs. Please accept my invitation to participate in the journey!

*We ( the reader and I) understand and acknowledge that the creation of a photograph having intentionality is usually done through the use of both a camera and the tools used to modify the image captured (either by a sensor and electronics or by film and chemicals) before displaying the image (on paper or digitally).