ku # 520 ~ therefore, I am

East Branch of the Au Sable, Jay • click to embiggenI engage in picturing on a daily basis. A camera (or two) is my constant companion in large part because I can't stop "seeing" things that I want to picture.

What is a little weird about all this picturing is that I would not in any way call it a "desire" to picture. Nor would I call it a "need". It's more like breathing - it's just part and parcel of my being (being = a verb and a noun). I like to observe. Sort of like Chauncey Gardener (Chance, the gardener), in the movie Being There, when he said, "I like to watch."

When I picture, I am usually just making a visual note of what I "see". What I "see" is most often that which most others do not or, perhaps, choose to avoid or overlook. Over time I have come to realize that this is quite simply how I "see" - I am not intentionally driven to see in a different manner than most, which is to say that I come by my "vision" honestly. My "vision" is neither a contrivance nor an adopted affection.

Now, none of the aforementioned could be called the "inspiration" for why I like "to carry around these little boxes" and picture. In fact, I am not certain that I need or have ever had any "inspiration" to picture, unless you count the personal pleasure and satisfaction I get from making "something" out of "nothing" - the pure act of creating - as inspiration. Without a doubt, I get plenty of emotional and intellectual pleasure from that.

And, yes, I really enjoy it when my pictures communicate to others at least part of what I feel and think when I am picturing a given subject. When viewing my pictures becomes an act of connecting with others - a sharing of my thoughts and feelings about what it means to be human.

While I do not seek praise from/for my pictures, I feel the greatest sense of accomplishment (and a warm, fuzzy sense of connection to others) when I hear comments such as, "I never noticed that before", "I never looked at it in that way", and, "I never thought about it in that way".

For me, "Photography is the capture and projection of the delights of seeing; it is the defining of observation full and felt." ~ Walker Evans. And, I really enjoy that I can, "Make visible what, without you (me), might perhaps never have been seen." --Robert Bresson

In a very basic sense, I feel both "validated" as a person and connected to the human race when my pictures "speak" to others.

And, in a very real sense, I can say, "I picture, therefore, I am."

Comments

[Martin Doonan]

I know how you feel. Not for me picturing, but science & engineering (how I make a living). The laws of Physics are an integral part of how I see the world.

What does amaze me, however, is your ability to elucidate on the subject. It seems a really hard thing to do: describe in words something for which one has an intuitive feel. Maybe communication in a wider context is also an inherent part of your picturing sense.

[Sean]

The Web doesn't do this image justice. I'd love to see it on a textured paper -- it's worthy.