I’m not an environmental activist. I’m more or less a regular dude who hates taking out biowaste, still drives a diesel because it's cheaper, and recycles plastic because my wife tells me to. I enjoy our Finnish lake views, clean air, and peaceful sunsets, but rarely thought about losing them... until recently.
My mentor was a cranky dude. He liked to put me through my paces every chance he got. Sometimes, when he needed something: “Hey, Greg—fetch that cable for me!” Yes, he said “fetch.” Sometimes, when he just knew better than I did: “Hey, Greg -- get off your a** and come assist me.” Or when I was feeling superior: “Hey, Greg—stop being an idiot.”
Ah, fond memories!
It was inevitable, I suppose. My paladin’s +2 plate armor had cracked. That is, my buddy Alex’s barbarian character had hit my character with a stroke of such raw power that even my eternally sunny disposition was clouded with rage. I mean, how dare he?! What a creep! I couldn’t wait to get back at him with my Backstabbing Ring of…umm… Backstabbery.
In fact, I was right in the middle of throwing a twenty-sided die across the table at Alex, and maybe even stomping my foot in disgust, when I realized a horrible truth: oh, man, I was actually having fun!
I’ve spent a lot of time over the last couple of years shooting personal projects as a way to get hired by the companies with whom I really want to work. When I began this process, my images were fairly tame. I assumed that mainstream and technically-correct images were better than free-form zaniness.
But then I started attending portfolio reviews, where I had the opportunity to sit down with industry buyers to find out what it is they really wanted to see. It was surprising to discover that my loopier ideas resonated more, even if they weren’t necessarily in the style of the company to whom I was pitching.
(I won’t lie to you, I have no sources I can cite for the positions I intend to take in this post. These are simply my opinions from having lived on this planet. And, of course, you know what they say about opinions…)
I think we can all agree that photography is an art form. (At least I hope we can, because that’s one of the central premises with which I’m working.) But what, then, is art? Why do we aspire to make it in the first place?