Personal taste

I recently started a photography blog. I’ve been planning to set it up around January but for some reason I can’t wait anymore. I believe that people have to do things when they want to do it (in other word when they are inspired) and not when they think they have to do it. Forcing yourself do things often result in disliking what you do and your life in general, and that is not a good thing. I don’t believe in schedules and following rules unless it is really, really necessary. I go by feelings most of the time and it works, at least for me.

I love photography. I like taking pictures and looking at pictures whether they are mine or someone else’s. But I dislike rendered/photoshopped images. Unless they are commissioned for an art gallery or otherwise specified by clients, I want to keep the photographs as natural as possible. Enhance yes, adjust levels and contrast by all means, crop if necessary but don’t alter an image beyond belief. I, myself am guilty of some enhancement to my images like turning them black and white, sepia or adding warm or cold glow to suit the mood of an article I am using the image for. But I will not go further than removing unwanted details from a frame like a garbage can or a hairy burly naked guy on a skateboard who accidentally get in the way of my otherwise perfect shot. No, I will not turn a sunset into a firefox logo, or the sky electric blue and the sea underneath orange; not even for the sake of art. The thought alone makes me cringe.

Another thing I hate is borders. Some people are so determined to add borders to their images. What it is good for? It certainly doesn’t add value artistic or otherwise to the pictures. It looks so unnatural. When we look at everyday life in general, we don’t see things around us encased in borders, do we? That’s why probably I seldom use frames when putting up pictures. Only if it goes with the design I am aiming to achieve.

I adore photographs that convey the real world, the way we see it with our own eyes, the ones that can transfer me directly to the place as if I’m really there. The ones that can make me feel nostalgic, full of longing and wishing to be part of whatever is going on. In other words, I love images that can evoke certain emotions, feelings that were buried deep; pictures that can make me green with envy and say: Damn! I wish I took that shot.