Although my schedule rarely allows me to participate in such activities as online forums, I would like to touch on a number of things I have always enjoyed about the 1x site, and all of them revolve around the refinement of the purest artistic process. For one, this is the most internationally distributed website I visit to share photography, and that brings us a broad scope of different influences and different walks of life from around the globe. Secondly, the curated aspect often brings forth images with more than the basics - Our selection specialists generally do at least one thing I really appreciate, and that's looking for images that tell the story of the subject, the relationship the artist has with the subject, and images that trigger an evocative, often emotional response that delivers the artist's message and/or interpretation. Last, and to the previous point, the work we are privileged to see on this site is the core of essential artistic photography, where most of our contributors have moved pasy the overly cliched approaches to subjects we've all seen, and ideas that have been done to death.
Eventually, when you do this for long enough, you reach a point as an artist where you have to evolve or stop. While most of us learn though imitation to some degree at least, the best artists among us stand out for the primary reason that their art is their own. To define and refine one's own style is the highest level, and there are parallels throughout the art world. Take music for example. There are many popular bands with a catchy tune that are all the rage today and you'll have forgotten about a month from now. There are very few Pink Floyd's, however. The later withstands the test of time because of uniqueness of style in their respective medium that connects with their subjects. Photography is the same way. We've all seen a picture of Mesa Arch, for example, about twenty eight million and a half times. No matter how pretty the sunrise, no matter how catchy the tune, it's been done. Art must evolve, and we must evolve as artists. Something of our desire to create, to express, to share and to interpret what we make and create disappears for every time we copy something else.
When I make my way around the internet scene and all the photography on display today it is plainly visible that one of the unfortunate side effects of mass-media sharing is that it has created an environment where sharing of images is rarely taken without popularity in consideration. As a professional, I feel it as much as anyone does and if I can post a pretty sunset on 500px that will get ten thousand views or a portrait of a side of a tree that will get a few hundred, I am not compelled to expand much as an artist, even though I personally find more ability to express with the later. I hate this feeling. Likewise, I believe that many photographers resign themselves to attempting the exact same stylistic approaches to the exact same types of subjects and then burn out after a few years, feeling bored with it. Even if the decision to copy is not a conscious one, I feel that simply being exposed disproportionately to the work that becomes 'most popular' on mainstream photo websites results in a sort of preconceived expectation of what we should do or what is possible, when in fact there are no limitations.
It's funny how many photographers I take into the field who simply won't take their camera out of the bag if it isn't a blazing sunset, or who arrive on scene with one shot or one type of shot so firmly ingrained in their minds that they completely ignore all other possibilities. This type of 'tunnel vision', particularly among experienced photographers, is greatly detrimental to progression as an artist and furthermore, the desire to create art in general. Again, mimicry is fine if you're a beginner trying to hone a particular approach or technical challenge, but we have to eventually move beyond that. Last year, I decided I would do almost 12 months of photography at locations where I had never seen any photographs of previously, and the result was a far higher level of enjoyment and deeper relationship with my subjects. At the first moment we see a particular scene, this is when our senses are most in tune, our minds most open and the base for our relationship is built. These first impressions, therefore, are often the ones that are etched most vividly in our minds.
Even at times when I find myself photographing the same locations, I always strive to keep an open mind to the potential. There is a favorite quote of mine that reads ''the beginner sees endless possibilities, the master very few''. This is an unfortunate reality for many of us as we become more experienced; but if you look at the entire history of art across all genres you'll find that the young and the less experienced are often the ones who become viewed as visionaries, creators and make the greatest impression upon the viewing public. The key is truly to keep being yourself and to you, yourself, keep evolving and seeking new challenges. When I look back on the best images I've ever taken more than half of all of them came at a location I'd never been, never seen, and didn't see coming until I'd rendered the shot or very shortly before. This goes against a lot of conventional thinking, particularly as it pertains to landscapes, that one must visit the same place dozens of times to get a single image. That mentality runs along the same lines as thinking you must get a certain type of shot just to be popular, or just to do what someone else already did. That mentality corrupts both your artistic thinking and worse yet, the appreciation of the adventure that comes with exploration of nature we all enjoy as landscape artists.
I started landscape photography as an outdoor adventure enthusiast, so I look at it from the inside out, and on to what I want to tell the viewer of my experience. I think many others start on the outside and look in, wanting to capture a picture that looks like what they saw on a postcard even if it sacrifices gaining a deeper exploration of the place. The core of being a creative and passionate landscape photographer in the long term and not just a couple years is to appreciate nature enough to want to constantly explore. No explorer wants to go back to the same reflection in the same lake eighteen times to get one shot, particularly when a thousand other people already have a good shot from there. What you are saying by doing this is that you care much more about the popularity of your image than you do about either exploration of the landscape or artistic expression of your experience. So, if you find yourself getting stuck in a rut, keep moving. Give yourself new challenges. Explore. Remember why you started taking pictures. And last, do it for you. Don't listen to who they say you should be. It is such a big, beautiful and amazing world out there it’s impossible to ever run out of inspiration and new possibilities unless that comes from within.
