03 January 2011

On my feelings on photo blogging

"A photograph is usually looked at - seldom looked into." -Ansel Adams

With that quote in mind, I'll try and explain my qualms about photo blogging. It's hard for me to maintain a truthful photo blog. I mean my photography is truthful (I post only those that I feel strongly about), but in terms of accompanying words, I tend to hold back my thoughts. I'm not much with words anyways, but I wish I could express why I feel so strongly about a certain photograph. The only reason why I keep this blog as simple as I do is so I can present my photography in an unembellished way. Words, I think, embellish photography. I also keep this blog minimal for the sake of organization and aesthetics. I find that keeping this blog minimalistic helps me from going off-topic and to stay focused on the subject of photography--I have often wanted to post about fashion, music, etc. Sometimes I feel that if I put too much words along with my photographs, it'll take away from the photograph itself. If I post too many words, it'll hinder the impact of the photograph making it overstated, if a photograph is capable of such. If I don't post any, it'll keep people wondering--which I prefer because I value mystery.

Which...leads me to the topic of photo blogs acting as photo dumps of other people's photography. I try to avoid that as much as I can, as I find these photo-dumping photo blogs become uninspiring after scrolling through so many inspiring photos... can then become an eyesore and its many photos lends itself away from any meaning.

One of the things I am still struggling to learn is to describe my art (and aesthetic) objectively. I try to tell people what my aesthetic is about, but my description is so scattered. I like to tell myself that I am an artist based purely on emotion, but I feel cynicism creeping up my alley when I tell people that... I'm beginning to see emotive photography becoming more and more trendy and less meaningful, the meaning having been lost in its virtual circulation in the many cyber pockets of blogs and social-networking sites.

So, in short, as you see, this is my photography blog. It is meaningful. If it is for you too, then I am gratified.

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