Being a photographer these days is a commodity. With the advent of digital cameras, and the evolution of cell phone technology leveling the bar for consumers-turned-artists, it’s easy to call yourself a photographer. I have always, firmly believed, that there is a difference between a photographer, and someone that takes pictures.
A photographer does more than just capture a scene. They take an ordinary scene, situation, scenario, and make you interested in what is happening within the confines of the frame. They find beauty in the everyday, capture it, and make you reflect on it, and yourself. You don’t need a fancy camera, or years of study at an accredited arts school, but it starts with finding something within your environment that interests you, and start exploring it with your cameras. Someone that takes pictures is an observer, someone that is only there to document what is happening in the scene, and there is no thought to composition, content, angle, light, or any other detail of what a photographer is thinking about before they click the shutter.
The world is full of pictures, and people that take pictures but genuine photographers that care about the craft, the emotion one gets from gazing on an indescribable photo, and the endless pursuit of mastering your art, they are going the way of Polaroid film.
Don’t be afraid, step out of your comfort zone, go places you wouldn’t normally go, be illegal, be a voyeur, be an explorer…