Lately I have spent a lot of time with a camera in my hand... To be honest that is not that unusual, but lately I have been taking even more photos than usual, because about a month ago I got my early 21st birthday present in the form of a new DSLR! So lately whenever I am bored, procrastinating or simply needing to escape from the 'real' world I grab my camera and set off on a new photographic adventure. It has left me thinking what is it about photography that has such a great appeal?
For some people, they take photos in pursuit of creating great art, but for me I never felt as though that was the primary motivation. Of course I aim to get a photo that looks great, with good composition, perfect focus and fantastic lighting- but I can't help but feel like a photo can be more than simply nice to look at and sometimes a photo that is technically not 'perfect' can still have an important story to tell.
The thing I love about photography is its ability to tell stories, to not only bring things into focus but also redirect focus. Often a moment that no one is paying attention to can make an great photo, if looked at from the right perspective; water dripping off the grass in the early morning, the last sun slipping behind the horizon, a woman in Hanoi burning rubbish in an alleyway, or a local grabbing a meal at the local markets in Hoi An. All of these moments are seemingly inconsequential, but somehow when captured through the lens they can become a thing of beauty that otherwise might have been completely overlooked.
Sometimes people tell me that I need to put down the camera at a party or a picnic and actually enjoy the moment, and sometimes they are probably right, I should emerge from my camera bubble on occasion, but just because I am looking at the world through the lens doesn't mean I fail to enjoy the moment; I simply choose to see it from a slightly different perspective!