Personal Philosophy of Photography-Fine Art Photography

Posted Oct 27, 2008
Last Updated Jun 21, 2012

A Personal Philosophy of Photography

Online Art - Black & White Photography, Fine Art Photography, Documentary Photographs, Street Photography, Landscape Photography, Video Art, Original Art Paintings and Collage

Photography and Art . In photography, most photographs are made in a brief moment, a split second where a particular event becomes unique, frozen within the continuum of time. Photographs exhibit a paradigm shift between the present and the past whose key holds an unique meaning for each of us; something that isn't immediately apparent. The photograph is nebulous and mesmeric and has a quality that is deeper and more profound than just the object that it appears to be. Photography is the confluence of chance, observation and memory. Photography and Art tap into the very life force that drives us. Our sense of the other worldly and mysterious and the profound experiences that enrich our lives and take on a spiritual quality. Photographs reflect our dreams, wishes, wants, and insecurities - a panopoly of memories and emotions, drives and intents. Visual images serve as an abstract representation of the personal and collective unconscious and bring moments of private meaning into being. Photography has its own, unique authority existing through a combination of the elements it is composed of, whilst in the same instant, confirming a reflection of our own approaching mortality. There is a photographic paradox of death present in the photographic, visual image.

Photography and Society. Our world is saturated with visual images that function for a great diversity of purposes. On a personal level people like to collect photographs, display them in their homes and gregariously share them with others. They are important personal icons that we construct around ourselves which give us a sense of posession of the world around us and help define our place within it. Photographs serve as a testament to the multitude of experiences we have lived and shared, both as individuals and collectively as a global people. History is embedded in them. What makes a good photograph is something very individual; our background, emotions, self identity, personal aesthetics, culture and language are all influential elements that embellish the detail of private meaning that becomes significant to the images we identify with. Photographs that take on personal meaning stimulate memories of relative, past events and emotions in our lives, times that otherwise may have faded away. The broader context of photographs that saturate society show us small slots of time and history that we never would have experienced, which is highly influential upon us.

Photography is all things to all people. Photography is used in the advertising industry to convey a sense of glamour envy in order to sell us things. It is extensively used in the fashion and glamour industries; editorial photography is used to illustrate articles in magazines; whilst pornography relies upon the photographic image for its own survival; photographs are informants of identity and are used for methods of social control. Photographs are polymorphic entities.

What does the camera and photography represent to us?
Do we shoot, take or make photographs?
How conscious are we in the moments when we use the camera to intervene in the passage of time?

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