Why I Photograph

Too many people go through life not knowing how they want to live it. Too many people never pursue their dreams because they do not know where to even begin dreaming. Too many people have not been able to follow their passions because they deem them out of reach or unachievable. I am lucky enough to have a something that fills all of those holes. Photography is one of my passions that has been fueled for as long as I can remember. It has given action to my dreams so that they have started to become a reality. It has given me purpose and direction in my life. It has helped me grow in more ways than I ever expected.

Photography has helped me learn how to express my emotions in a way that words never could. It has taught me to open up and take risks. It has taught me to push myself in order to succeed. It has given me a way to freeze those precious moments in life and an opportunity to see more in what is before my eyes. I see the world full of potential. I have experience in a lot of different styles of photography, ranging from portraiture and still life to landscapes and wildlife. I enjoy every style of photography, but those that are more meaningful to me are landscapes and wildlife photography.

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I have been told many times throughout my life how difficult it is going to be to become a significant landscape photographer in today’s society. Landscapes are not valued the same as they once were. In some ways, it is a dying art. On top of that struggle, I have been told that it will be increasingly difficult for me because I am a woman. Men are typically associated with landscape photography while women are associated with portrait photography. That is not something that comes as a shock to hear. Women are typically better with people and are more comfortable in that environment than camping out in swamps and subzero temperatures to take pictures that may not produce any income.

However, I feel like I tend to fall more in the men’s category in this way. I get awkward around people and I lose every shred of confidence I have when it comes to directing a model. However, I love every aspect of the outdoors and have always found the most meaning in life there. I have loved camping since I was a child. Whether that be tent camping, trailer camping (aka “glamping”), or sleeping in a hammock over a river. I love waking up at four thirty in the morning to hike to a watering hole to wait for hours to see if animals might come through. Every aspect of nature is enthralling to me. I do not have any grounding ties to technology or society to give me a desire to stay within cell range or in twenty miles of a target. I would gladly live in the middle of nowhere with my dog and my camera. I have been that way and I do not intend to change due to some stigma that women are supposed to be portrait photographers.

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I have come to realize that I do not photograph for others. Yes, it is always an uplifting experience when someone compliments on my work, and I love to share it with others. But I have learned that I photograph for me. I photograph what I love so that I can have it with me always. It makes me happy in a way that nothing else has. It has been a long road of progression that has challenged me in the best ways possible. There has been a lot of failure, but it is those failures that have led to success as well. I have taken a lot of photography classes between now and high school, and I have approached them in a lot of different ways. When I first started out, I was just trying to meet the criteria. When I began to understand more, I branched out and really challenged myself through the help of my amazing high school teacher.

She pushed me in a way that lifted me up. She knew my potential and she did not accept anything below it. But she was also my biggest cheerleader. She helped expand my mind, she gave us each individual care and assistance. She pushed me to do things I didn’t think I could do. She was there to celebrate my successes and she was there to catch me when I fell short. I attribute most of my progress to her as she made photography what it is for me. She showed me how much meaning a single photograph can have and how it varied person to person. She has been one of the biggest inspirations in my life.

In case my meaning has not come through with what I have said implicitly, I will say it explicitly. I photograph because it completes me. It gives me a sense of fulfillment that nothing else in life has come close to. I am so grateful that I have been blessed with a passion that I am able to pursue and cultivate. Photography has given me an outlet for my creativity, emotions, and aspirations. It has challenged me in a way that makes it all the more valuable and desirable to me. Photography has been a big part of my life so far and I cannot wait to see how far I can take it. It is a complex language that I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to learn. While I am not yet fluent, I am enjoying every step of the journey to get there.