Author: oscameraclub

A Perspective by OSCC Member Greg McMillan from 2023

Photography. Do you ever wonder what this world would be like without it? I couldn’t imagine living in a world without pictures— and let’s face it, we might as well include movies in this equation because they are just moving pictures anyway. Think about it. We’d never know what things look like in another country, let alone the next town, unless we actually went there to see it for ourselves. Since its inception, photography has been able to take us back to a moment in time so easily that it seems second nature to look at a photograph and pass it off as just another visual aspect of our lives.  

Throughout history, photography as a medium has been in a constant state of progression to the point where the majority of the human race has access to a camera. The number of photos taken by smartphones in recent years is absolutely astounding. Of course, smartphones are not the only cameras out there; I was just illustrating the point that photography has never been as abundant an art form as it is now.  

Enter social media. The number of photos taken globally has grown exponentially over the years thanks to the likes of Instagram, Facebook, and others. I’ve read that 12.4 trillion photos have been taken since it was first possible to do so, and by 2030, that number could reach over 28 trillion. On Instagram alone, about 95 million photos are shared daily, and that pales in comparison to the 350 million posted to Facebook each day. That’s a lot of photos, and that prompted me to ask myself, “Why do I take photos?”

I don’t like the term “social photographer” and I can’t help but think that’s what I might be. I don’t take photos for a living, meaning I don’t get paid to do it; however, that would definitely be high on my list of dream jobs. I don’t sell photos, at least not through any effort, but I have sold the odd photograph, which makes me happy to know people think enough of my work to want one on their walls. And while I’m on the list of reasons I don’t take photos, just to have a presence on social media isn’t why I post them there. I do take photos because I have wants, needs, and desires. Now, before you start thinking about how corny that sounds, let me explain. 

Wants

I want to take photos because I love capturing images of God’s awesome creation. I may not travel to exotic locations with famous landmarks, but there is plenty of His creation around me. When I look at my surroundings, whether it’s in my backyard or on a trail along the Niagara Escarpment, I give all the glory to God for providing it, and by doing so, I feel closer to Him. This doesn’t stop with what I see in nature either. If I go to a big city like Toronto and see the tall buildings of the Financial District, or the nostalgic design of Casa Loma, I can’t look at it without thinking that God is responsible for the design, materials, and construction of it all.

Needs

As a photographer, I am also an artist. I have this need within my being to create my art. Whenever I look at something, quite often I look at it as though it’s through the lens of my camera. I can almost “see” how the main camera of my iPhone is going to render the image in its wide-angle format. The composition will oftentimes call out to me, begging to be captured.  

Being a photographer, or an artist for that matter, is a God-given talent. Us photographers, we’re passionate about photography, and we need to fulfil that passion by creating a photo. Sometimes it doesn’t have to be a portfolio piece; just create an image. I can remember, not too long ago, feeling the urge to capture an image. It was spring, and where I live, spring is considered “stick season” because of the lack of colour and foliage in the landscape. I still wanted to take a picture of something, anything, so off I went. I can’t honestly remember what I captured that day, but I do remember how it felt to point my camera at something and take that photo. I literally had a physical feeling of what we’ve all heard of: the joy of photography. 

Desires

I’ve covered why I want and need to take a photo. Now, to discuss my desire to take one. You’d think the reasons mentioned above could be considered the desire to photograph, and they probably are, but what I truly desire in my photography is to show the rest of the world what I saw at a specific moment in time. It’s one thing to take a photo and share it, but everyone “sees” things differently. Artistic impression is a very subjective part of photography, and it’s what helps give a photographer their style. I also desire to show you my own style in my photos because my style isn’t the same as anyone else’s.  

My part of the world isn’t anyone else’s either. What I mean here is that no one else, not even someone standing next to me, can claim where I am at any given point in time. Only I can see what I saw from my own perspective, and it’s my desire to share it with you, the way I want to share it. I could try to describe it, but we all know a picture is worth a thousand words.  

We each practice photography for our own reasons, and if you’ve never really thought about why you do it, I challenge you to ponder it for a while. You may just learn something about yourself that you didn’t know before. By the way, when I said a picture is worth a thousand words, so is this article. If you don’t believe me, count them.