Short Morning Musings on the balance between artistic photography and photography for documentation purposes.

...When I first got into photography on a serious level I was taught how towards the beginning there was a serious battle between the group of individuals that saw this as a means for truly creative artistic expression, and those which saw the camera merely as a tool for the sake of documentation, utilized for scientific means as well as by painters looking to have a physical aid when constructing their masterpieces without being directly in the company of the subject they were re-imagining. For years there was this undeniable division which kept burning between these two worlds, as many swore the camera could never be seen as a true artistic medium, at least not in the same vein as painting/sculpture. Eventually there came a realization, through the assistance of persistent masters, that true creative/aesthetically appealing modes of expression could come from this medium and we cannot deny its rightful place in the artistic world.

Decades then transpired, and while the development of more affordable/accessible cameras, with less reliance on the operator to capture imagery, brought this medium into every home casually scarring the suburban landscape, there was a very clear line between the contemporary minds creating pieces worthy of hanging in the (at times falsely) hollowed hallways of the greatest galleries, and the point-and-shoot master capturing the fuzz of a child's birthday for the sake of saving that moment in a well-placed album we'll revisit in more somber times. I got older and more involved, and the misguided minds and hands of teenage inclusion saw those I shared the darkroom with fall away as they could no longer feign interest in photography beyond the exaggerated mirroring of oneself, which new technology made so immediately available.

Then the technology advanced far beyond the development of the majority of the minds/bodies which now surround us like some pre-mature graveyard, and soon those that lost interest when user error was more impactful, fell back "in love" with the elegant pastime of purchasing a perspective. Because while it's never universal, there's a way which those that lack persistence stay consistent in such an approach, and sometimes technology will turn things in their favor if they simply hold-off long enough.

So we arrive here, where the average individual possesses a level of authentic vision which falls somewhere between color-by-number ethics and the latest pyramid scheme helping stay-at-home moms stay at home. Where we are left to recognize the cycle which we have been suspended within. Where the rising tide of technological development brings back a true division between that which is genuinely art and that which is merely documentation. This is not to debate or compare the worth of these two seemingly opposing sides of the same intangible coin, rather to show that some of us truly feel as if we aren't in this to simply showcase the beauty of mirrored recreation. We aren't looking to make an easily digested depiction which is indistinguishable from the depictions others claim ownership of. For some, this medium quite literally helped keep guns in drawers when they could so easily have received welcome invitation within the rented coffins we once called home. For some it's not about showcasing easily disguised beauty. For some it goes far deeper than finding new ways to expand upon narcissism.

Now I'm well aware there's likely some major flaws in my approach, but sometimes it feels as though I too must defend the true meaning (as I see it) much the same as those individuals I admired for being so passionate about the medium decades before I took a single breath. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I'll forever put my faith in the "mantra" that not all photographers are artists and not all observers are exceptions to that which they openly observe.