“To be a photographer, one must photograph. No amount of book learning, no checklist of seminars attended, can substitute for the simple act of making pictures. Experience is the best teacher of all. And for that, there are no guarantees that one will become an artist. Only the journey matters.”
– Harry Callahan
Amen. But beware. It’s a truth, but a dangerous one. Because there is practice, and there is practice. There is shooting, and there is learning. There are snapshots, and there are photographs. And the picture imbued not just with the struggle and strife of effort, but the desire to be something more – to have purpose and find meaning – these things are not the same.
In this world of the fast track, the simple act of doing for its own sake is all too often lost upon us. The idea of doing for learning is even more distant. But the ever-present danger isn’t a lack of achievement. Most who stick with it get somewhere. Some get further. Some even make it big. The omnipresent threat is now more than ever the threat of stagnation.
We live in a culture that respects the destination and not the journey. We live in a culture where the cash-out is assumed – that it’s a fool’s errand to chase personal growth in the face of financial security. And it may be true if you can really and truly cash-out. But in reality, the question is always at what cost and what point? Minor opportunities to cash out appear frequently. But when do you get on the ride? Growth is the belief we’ll get somewhere. Cashing out is often the doubt you won’t get there. How far is enough? Life is fast, but not that fast. Many a career doesn’t go the distance.
Here’s a lovely passage from Ira Glass on taste and growth with some nicely stylized typography by David Shiyang Liu:
The message is similar. We must persevere. Again there is truth: too many people give up before they get there. But, again, there is a danger. Because very frequently, even as creatives, even as experts, our taste simply sucks. What Ira has right is that we do typically have the sensitivity and appreciation for it. But taste grows with us. And we grow with taste. Few truly start with great taste. But many have something better – the appetite.
This is the other half of the equation. When we begin, inspiration comes daily. Every new image we see changes our understanding. Every new photographer introduces a new vision. But as we settle in for the long haul and get busy in the day to day, and as we build our reputations and actually find ourselves with something to lose, our taste calcifies. Our skins grow thick. We notice less. And we become defensive. All too often, it is not just our efforts that let us down, but the belief in what we do. We stay in the game, but we lose the chase. The lights are on, but we’re no longer home.
So, yes, we must practice. Yes, we must believe and persevere. But we must do things not just in service of our skills, but our vision. Not just as an accumulation of hours or to feel good that we’re getting it done, but to keep ourselves open to constantly seeing more. Because that’s the real gift of creativity. The more you let yourself experience, the better you’ll be able to experience more. But to do that, we must stay young and driven. We must constantly challenge ourselves. That’s the real truth behind both of these passages. Those with hunger will find the taste. We just have to keep that hunger going.
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