Why I take pictures

Photography…..well, it's pretty much a part of me. If you know me you know I love it and anything having to do with it. I don't know what it is about photography that I love so much. I guess no one really knows why they do the things they do. For as long as I can remember I've loved taking pictures. When I was a kid I took tons of pictures… of nothing really, had them developed then looked at them and said "what else can I take a picture of?" Then I took that photography class my freshman year in high school. I will never forget…I won an honorable mention in the art show at the mall for a photo of my little cousin Glenn and his cat sitting on a picnic table. I was so excited and disappointed at the same time! I was grateful to have the honorable mention…but why wasn't it good enough for a ribbon? Well, I believe that was the start of it all right there!

I've never seen myself as a talented person. I still to this day don't really know of anything that I'm really great at. I can do a lot of things well. Play first base in softball…I'm pretty good but I'm not great. I can ski…I'm pretty good but I'm not great. I play tennis…and the list goes on. I especially have never seen myself as an artistic person. I'm sure, as it is with everyone else, I am my own worst critic. I never see myself as good as everyone else does…in many aspects of my life. I don't know the reason for that. I suppose I don't like to boast or make myself appear to be something I'm not. I do know that I am not the best and even if I come up with an awesome photo once in a while, there are others out there that are that much better than mine. I'm not sure. But one thing I am sure of is this: no matter what anyone else thinks, I love my photographs.

I decided one year that I was going to submit a photo to The State Fair. I have always loved looking at all the photos in the Fair each year and decided I wanted to be a part of it. I painstakingly chose my two photos that I thought were acceptable and my mom and I framed them ourselves. Now, I didn't have high expectations. I keep my hopes low so that should anything good happen it's just a great surprise rather than a big let down when nothing happens. Well, I received word that one of my two photos were accepted to hang in the Fair! I was elated!! I didn't need to win a prize…getting my photo hung in the Fair for who knows how many people to look at was enough for me!! Of course, I didn't win anything, but like I said, I didn't need to. The following year I repeated the process. The only difference was this time I had my photographs professionally framed. That year both of my photographs were accepted. Again, I kept my hopes low. I wasn't expecting to win anything but, man, wouldn't it be awesome if I did! As me and my family walked around the exhibit I thought to myself "wow, mine's pretty good compared to all the other's here, I may have a chance". I never dared utter these words out loud of course. However, friends and family were telling me that I was going to win something. "You have to" they kept saying. Well, I didn't. Again, that was fine with me! This year I had TWO photos accepted. That's better than last year already!! I did learn something that year however. That old saying "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is true. The judge that year chose a picture that, well, let's just say we were all a little surprised to see the famous Blue Ribbon hanging from it. After the fair that year I set my thoughts to the next year's entries. What other photographs do I have that I can enter? Maybe I will take the one this year! My mom had some suggestions for me. She always does and I am so thankful that she supports me and my photography the way she does. She's my biggest fan I think. Next to my daddy of course! Her suggestion was to look at the photo that won and take some photos like that one to cater to the judges. I nodded in agreement but only to be polite. I decided that day that if I had to take a photograph that I didn't like to win, then I didn't want to win.

If you ask me what I like to take photographs of I will tell you nature. Then I would add people, then landscapes. I would not be able to completely answer that question actually. My photography does not have a set style or look to it. I have some semi-abstract, some traditional…I guess you could say that I'm well rounded when it comes to a photographic style. I just like taking photographs. If it looks one way this day and another way the next day, then so be it. The reason for that is that I truly love to take photographs of anything! It may change daily, or even hourly! If I see something that I think would make a great picture….I take a picture of it! If it's a rose, a cute baby or a bag of potato chips…if I see something beautiful in it…I will take a photograph of it!of it I get teased quite a bit about the things that I take photographs of. "There she goes taking the artistic look at a insert name of ordinary object here". But they can laugh all they want. Because I will have the last laugh when they see a beautiful photograph they were never expecting!

My favorite quote comes from Diane Arbus. She said "I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn't photograph them". I believe the same thing! I believe that people don't see things like I do. That, I think, is why I take pictures. To show everyone what I see.