Photography is a process, not a result. - James Popsys
I follow UK photographer James Popsys on YouTube and was going thru some of his older videos the other day. I came across,
The Photography tips I wish I'd known sooner..., and just before he ended the video he gave one last tip - "Photography is a process, not a result."
It took a few seconds for the full effect of the quote to sink in but when it did I realized how brilliant it is. Well,
brilliant may not be the most appropriate word - maybe
inspired is better. The more I thought about it, the more I came to like what he was saying and decided to see if I could expand upon it.
The Process
Ah... the process. This is the drug, isn't it? I look at the process, for me as a nature/landscape photographer, as looking for the next composition. Looking for new places to explore or simply finding new ways to look at old subjects. There are a few subjects - a couple trees and an old house, in particular - that I go back to time and time again. I am always looking for a fresh approach or the perfect conditions. This is what gets me out of bed at god awful o'clock on a weekend to stand on a beach in sub-freezing weather to capture a sunrise or arrive an hour or two before sunset so that I can find just the right spot to set up my tripod.
The process is what turns us into pack mules carrying gear to the top of mountains hoping to get the perfect foliage image or stand in the middle of a swift flowing stream for just the right angle on a waterfall. We lie on our belly in the mud to get an unusual perspective on an oft-photographed object. It is hard to explain to someone the high we feel when everything comes together and we know that we have witnessed something truly remarkable. We have taken a brief moment in time and immortalized it in a way that only we saw it.
For me, the process is all about feeding the soul.
The Result
I don't mean to make short shrift of the result - in this case your final image - but it seems, to me at least, to be almost an after-thought sometimes. Well, again, maybe
after-thought isn't the right word but you know what I mean. The image is your showcase, the end-product.
We get back to our computer, upload images, sort thru and edit "the keepers." Then, most of us, post some of the best on various social media platforms and sit back to collect the accolades. Am I right? I mean, we fight the elements to capture this wonderful image and it would be selfish not to share it with the world. I may be getting myself into trouble here....
Whereas the process is about feeding the soul, the result is more about feeding the ego.
And so....
The point that I am clumsily trying to make is that photography is all about creating a lasting memory and, at least for me, that doesn't necessary mean creating a tangible product - i.e. a photograph. Can we think of
the process as being a commodity and
the result as being the product? In a sense, yes. I often use photography as a substitute for a therapist couch; when I have a camera in my hand the woes of the world cease to exist. I don't even have to press the shutter.
The perfect summation of
the process can be found is a quote from Annie Leibovitz - "One doesn’t stop seeing. One doesn’t stop framing. It doesn’t turn off and on. It’s on all the time."
So? What do you think? Is the quote true? Is photography a
process and not a
result? I would love to hear your thoughts on the topic - leave me a comment below.
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