What Photography Means to Me

    Marvin Heiferman never really explained to use what photography means to him. However he did explain what it was, its use, how it changed, and how it influences us. He stated "Photography was essential to each of our pursuits. And each person in the room, because of his or her training, responsibilities, or interests used and spoke about photography differently." Showing us that photography is not just an art but a tool used in many different pursuits. Since it is used in many different ways and for many different reasons it does not hold just one definition. However Marvin defined it well when he said "What made an effective, good, or even beautiful picture depended entirely on who was doing the looking and the talking." I believe that he meant that art holds a different sort of beauty for every person. A biologist might find photographs of a germ or virus beautiful while an archaeologist might find photos of an ancient civilization beautiful. As a wise man once said "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Marvin then moved on to explain how because of technology, like the smartphone, anyone can be a photographer. While I agree that anyone can take pictures these days I don't think that would make them a photographer. I see photography as an art and the photographer an artist. And to become a great artist takes time and practice. Finally he went on to say how not only do we shape photography but photography shapes us. I believe in this he was telling us that photography shapes our way of life. Photography surrounds us in our everyday lives. Heiferman found that an estimated "1.3 billion new photographic images are made daily". That is not including surveillance cameras. In this day and age it is almost impossible to hid any misdeeds or crime so people tend to steer away from it. We also shape our looks and personality to please others in our photos that we post across social media.

    Photography to me is a form of artistic expression passed down to us just like painting and story telling, just not as old as they are. Photography is a form of self expression or a way of telling a story. A photo captures a moment in time, and I believe it can also capture a piece of the soul, eternalizing it in a frozen form. Because of this an artists emotions can shine through it and speak to us. One of my favorite quotes that I think describes this well is "A picture can say a thousand words." That is what photography is to me.

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