What is the fundamental reason that people photograph?

[michaellinder]

<p>" . . . <strong>much more in the doing</strong> . . . " Well put, Arthur, especially for those of us who prefer to think of photography in terms of process.</p>

[colin carron]

<p>In my experience it is because they have just had their first baby.</p>

[Allen Herbert]

<p>I like a story.</p>

<p>A visual story.</p>

<p>They all have a tale to tell.</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

[arthur_gottschalk]

<p>I'd suggest that there is something more to the "fundamental" reason for photography than we've discussed here. Underneath it all, IMHO, is the attempt to discover, or rediscover, something buried deep within our psyches or unconscious mind. What exactly that might be I can't say, but it might just have something to do with "the return of the repressed," or the uncovering of material that for what ever reason we've hidden from ourselves. </p>

[Julie H]

<p>... Gottschalk ... "hidden from ourselves." The brain facilitates action; perception not relevant to our own action is more or less ignored by consciousness. Which is not to say that we "can't" see it, but that we, quite naturally (and usefully) "don't" see it.</p>

<p>If you consider that (stealing from Bergson):</p>

<p>1. If our senses and consciousness had unlimited scope, there would be no need for concepts or reason;</p>

<p>2. That concepts and reason are there, are needed because of the insufficiency of our faculties -- that concepts and reason are used to "fill in the gaps" and that concepts and reason are subordinate to percepts ("the most ingeniously assembled conceptions and the most learnedly constructed reasonings collapse like a house of cards the moment the fact -- a single fact really seen -- collides with" them. -- <em>Bergson</em>);</p>

<p>... the best way to increase our knowledge/consciousness is to increase/dilate our perceptions -- out of their naturally limited scope. "... suppose that instead of trying to rise above our perception of things we were to plunge into it for the purpose of deepening and widening it. Suppose that we were to insert our will into it, obtain this time a philosophy where nothing in the data of the senses or consciousness would be sacrificed; no quality, no aspect of the real would be substituted for the rest ostensibly to explain it. But above all we should have a philosophy to which one could not oppose others, for it would have left nothing outside of itself that other doctrines could pick up; it would have taken everything. It would have taken every thing that is given, and even more, for the senses and consciousness, urged on by this philosophy to an exceptional effort, would have given it more than they furnish naturally." -- <em>Bergson</em></p>

<p>Even if you don't think we (humans) can see past our cultural, social prejudices, perhaps the camera does?</p>

[tudor_apmadoc]

<p>Motivations can vary by person and by moment, examples</p>

<p>Event documentation (for memories, some times for bragging)</p>

<ul>

<li>Weddings</li>

<li>Graducations</li>

<li>Parties</li>

</ul>

<p>News Events</p>

<ul>

<li>Protests</li>

<li>Political events</li>

<li>Accidents</li>

</ul>

<p>Artistic drive</p>

<ul>

<li>Take your pick of reasons - can be still life, architecture, landscapes, people, the variety is endless</li>

</ul>

<p>Bragging rights</p>

<ul>

<li>photos people take of themselves in front of location icons like Big Ben, Eiffel Tower, etc</li>

</ul>

<p>And yes, I've done all of those</p>

[Sanford]

<p>The other day I photographed a street sign near where I parked so I could find my car again. I photograph to augment my memory!</p>

[luis_g]

<p>To make fetishes.</p>

[pnital]

<p>To see the world and express my feeling about human behavior, action and reaction, discover the microcosmus as parte of the macro,and my need to create. Have found that using the camera as a tool of expression enriches my seeing ,and through it my life.</p>

[s_m21]

<p>Let's start by discussing the basics...</p>

 

<h2 >photograph</h2>

Syllabification: (pho·to·graph)

Pronunciation: <a href="http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/words/key-to-pronunciation-us"> /ˈfōtəˌgraf/</a>

<h3 >noun</h3>

<a name="photograph__3"></a> a picture made using a camera, in which an image is focused onto film or other light-sensitive material and then made visible and permanent by chemical treatment, or stored digitally.

 

 

<h2 >picture</h2>

Syllabification: (pic·ture)

Pronunciation: <a href="http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/words/key-to-pronunciation-us"> /ˈpikCHər/</a>

<h3 >noun</h3>

<ul >

<li >

<a name="picture__3"></a> a painting or drawing:

</li>

</ul>

 

 

 

<h2 >image</h2>

Syllabification: (im·age)

Pronunciation: <a href="http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/words/key-to-pronunciation-us"> /ˈimij/</a>

<h3 >noun</h3>

<ul >

<li >

<a name="image__3"></a> 1a representation of the external form of a person or thing in art.

</li>

<li >

<a name="image__6"></a> a visible impression obtained by a camera, telescope, microscope, or other device, or displayed on a computer or video screen.

</li>

<li >

<a name="image__7"></a> an optical appearance or counterpart produced by light or other radiation from an object reflected in a mirror or refracted through a lens.

</li>

<li >

<a name="image__8"></a> <em > Mathematics</em> a point or set formed by mapping from another point or set.

</li>

<li >

<a name="image__9"></a> <em > Computing</em> an exact copy of a computer’s hard disk, made for backing up data or setting up new machines.

</li>

<li >

<a name="image__10"></a> a mental representation or idea:<em >he had an image of Uncle Walter throwing his crutches away</em>

</li>

<li >

<a name="image__11"></a> <em> [in singular]</em> a person or thing that closely resembles another:<em >he’s <strong>the image of</strong> his father</em>

</li>

</ul>

<ul >

<li >

<a name="image__13"></a> 2a simile or metaphor:<em >he uses the image of a hole to describe emotional emptiness</em>

</li>

</ul>

<ul >

<li >

<a name="image__14"></a> 3the general impression that a person, organization, or product presents to the public:<em >she strives to project an image of youth</em>

</li>

<li >

<a name="image__15"></a> <em> [in singular]</em> semblance or likeness:<em >we are made <strong>in the image of</strong> God</em>

</li>

<li >

<a name="image__16"></a> (in biblical use) an idol.

</li>

</ul>

 

These are the basics...

 

So, why do I take photographs? I take them to communicate...not just colors or contours...

 

I, once, took a 'photograph' of something so amazing... as I printed it out...it was just a piece of glossy 3x5 paper with some black and white ink... nothing like I imagined it would be... the idea was just a memory.... I gave up on photography...after several years, I just happened onto that photograph...I realized that I had forgotten the story and more important, the feeling...the awe...the wonder...

 

My reason to photograph is to capture the Saga in a split second. I ask myself: Can I capture the essence, the feeling, the awe of a moment and "give" it to someone? Can I freeze a moment in time? And everything that goes with it?

 

I am perusing imagery instead of photography...I want to hand something to my child and make her feel as I did when I took that picture...