Why I’m a Photographer

A relative of mine had, until recently, not really understood my approach to photography. He’s the type of person who has lived long enough to be tired of being sold to when the product or service isn’t worth getting excited about. While I had told him earlier, it was just one of those things where he didn’t understand. And that was okay, I don’t expect everyone to get it, or even expect a real interest in understanding. We all have our own lives and interests.

Anyway, I say “recently” because lately he’s become a real fan.

He asked me: “How do you look at something so ordinary and photograph it to make it look so awesome?” Aside from the indirect compliment, which I sincerely thanked him for, I explained it to him.

And, because I’d been meaning to rewrite the “About Dean” section on my website, I rewrote it to tell you, my clients, friends and colleagues why I’m a photographer. Maybe I should say “compelled” to be a photographer….

Oh, if there are any writer / editors reading who feel compelled to edit this, please feel free to offer your comments. I don’t claim to be a wordsmith. Yours is a talent I wish I had. Thanks. Maybe we can work out some type of quid pro quo.

Why I’m a Photographer

A few years ago I realized something. My professional life had never really been about what I was doing for a career, though I thought it was. It wasn’t about being a respected TV executive or a creative producer. I had always worked towards TV shows that would both make people think and entertain.

As I was wrapping up a TV series, I had a nagging realization that most of the episodes I had worked such long hours to deliver on time, would be forgotten by most of its intended audience. We’re living in a 1000+ TV channel world.

I was walking down a busy street, thinking about it from different angles, but was having a difficult time focusing. I couldn’t help but notice everything around me. Out of the corner of my eye. And directly in front of me. Brief moments of people relating to one another, or the look of satisfaction on someone’s face as they walked out of a store. I took note of how the light was affecting what I saw.

I kicked myself for not having my camera to document what I was witnessing. This wasn’t the first time I kicked myself; I’d been doing it with increasing frequency for years. Now it was almost a daily occurrence. I told myself I was too busy with my career to do anything about photography.

And then it hit me like a ton of bricks:

To everyone around me, they were everyday happenings. But to me, all those ordinary moments were an accumulation of something extraordinary: life. Every detail I see tells me a story.

That was the day I left my TV career to become a photographer. There’s an immediacy to the still image that I find captivating. And when I see how people react to my images, I know I’m on the right path.

The process of photography for me is one of discovery. It’s a lot of fun for my clients, too. So if you notice how excited I am when I’m shooting, just go with it. I’m seeing things in an entirely new light.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 15th, 2008 at 12:43 am. It is filed under articles and tagged with articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.