random notes

Excerpt from 'On Being A Photographer' by David Hurn & Bill Jay

Bill Jay: When we were discussing some definitions, you remarked that photography's core characteristic was to show what something looked like. I think this is an important point because many photographers seem fascinated with the medium yet have no idea what to photograph.

David Hurn: That's true. The fundamental issue is one of emphasis; you are not a photographer because you are interested in photography.

Many people are interested in photography in some nebulous way; they might be interested in the seemingly glamorous lives of top fashion or war photographers; or in the acquisition and admiration of beautiful, functional machines, the cameras, or in the arcane ritual of darkroom processes or in the persona which they could adopt if only they took pictures like... whoever. But these interests, no matter how personally enjoyable they might be, never lead to the person becoming a photographer. The reason is that photography is only a tool, a vehicle, for expressing or transmitting a passion in something else. It is not the end result. An analogy would be to buy a car for its status appeal, for the idea that it will improve your sex life, for the smell of the new upholstery, for the fascination of its beautiful engineering, and so on. But it is useless, unless it actually takes you somewhere.