{"id":19930,"date":"2014-08-16T17:04:03","date_gmt":"2014-08-17T00:04:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=19930"},"modified":"2014-08-17T03:08:17","modified_gmt":"2014-08-17T10:08:17","slug":"needing-versus-wanting-to-make-photographs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2014\/08\/16\/needing-versus-wanting-to-make-photographs\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Needing\u00e2\u20ac\u009d versus \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Wanting\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to Make Photographs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"10606310_10152329701252717_6727356365221419816_n\"
Kyoto, 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What motivates you in street photography? What is the fuel that keeps you going? Why do you decide to go out and shoot, even though you might be tired, exhausted, or frustrated?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It is hard for me to always be motivated in street photography. There are days I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to go out and shoot. Sometimes I can go for days without \u00e2\u20ac\u0153seeing\u00e2\u20ac\u009d an interesting photograph.<\/p>\n

However what I think ultimately drives me in street photography is the need to take photographs. Not just a want, but a visceral need.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Needing\u00e2\u20ac\u009d versus \u00e2\u20ac\u0153wanting\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to take photos<\/h2>\n

What is the difference between \u00e2\u20ac\u0153need\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153want\u00e2\u20ac\u009d?<\/p>\n

Needing to take a photograph is an absolute must. There are no compromises. You can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t go a day without taking a photograph. It is like going a day without food or water. You feel empty. You are thirsty and hungry. You need to photograph to quench that deep part of your soul that needs to take photographs.<\/p>\n

Wanting to take a photograph isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t nearly as urgent. You know you \u00e2\u20ac\u0153should\u00e2\u20ac\u009d take photographs, but it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t imperative. You can go along your daily life without taking photographs, because you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to. You are totally content to experience things without capturing them.<\/p>\n

Now I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think there is a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153right\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or a wrong when it comes to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153needing\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to take photographs versus \u00e2\u20ac\u0153wanting\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to take photographs. It is a personal choice. It is a decision. It is how you see the world, and how you wish to interact with it.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think you should force yourself to make photographs against your own will. If you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel like taking photos, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take them. No need to force it.<\/p>\n

But once again consider the following question: do you \u00e2\u20ac\u0153need\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to take photographs, or do you just \u00e2\u20ac\u0153want\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to take photographs? This question will continue to guide you in your photographic journey.<\/p>\n

My experiences<\/h2>\n

As for me? I must take photographs. I have a horrible sense of memory, and a fear that if I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t capture my experiences on film\u00e2\u20ac\u201c I might lose them.<\/p>\n

For me photography is also a richer way to experience the world. Although it is true that sometimes photographing something can take away from the experience (like watching fireworks)\u00e2\u20ac\u201c I find photograph heightens the experience I have. I feel more engaged with the rest of the world as I am actively documenting it\u00e2\u20ac\u201c rather than just being a passive observer. I see myself as a sociologist with a camera, and the camera is just my research tool to collect fragments of everyday life, and ultimately put it together in some comprehensive document.<\/p>\n

When I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take photographs of experiences, moments, or people I see or meet\u00e2\u20ac\u201c I feel empty inside. I feel I am missing out. I regret not taking photographs.<\/p>\n

I hope that one day my grandchildren can look at my life\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s work and appreciate it. Find inspiration in it. To understand what his grandfather found interesting\u00e2\u20ac\u201c and how he saw the world. This is another reason I shoot film: I am more confident that my grandchildren will be able to see my negatives and prints, than they are likely to see JPEG images on a hard drive (that might not be readable in 60 years).<\/p>\n

When I see a scene and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not compelled to photograph it, it is because I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to document the moment. Sometimes I think to myself, I \u00e2\u20ac\u0153should\u00e2\u20ac\u009d photograph that. But when I end up not taking the shot, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mind.<\/p>\n

However when I see a scene that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m compelled to capture (for one reason or another)\u00e2\u20ac\u201c I feel a deep urge to capture it. And there is always a moment of fear or hesitation. But because I \u00e2\u20ac\u0153need\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to take that photograph \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it overrides the fear aspect. I then end up taking the photograph, and I feel fulfilled. If I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t capture the moment, I feel photographically constipated.<\/p>\n

So what motivates you to make photographs? And do you see yourself needing or merely wanting to make photographs? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What motivates you in street photography? What is the fuel that keeps you going? Why do you decide to go out and shoot, even though you might be tired, exhausted, or frustrated?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_ek_photo_artist_note":"","_ek_photo_thesis":"","_ek_photo_camera":"","_ek_photo_place":"","_ek_photo_human_moment":"","_ek_photo_sequence":"","_ek_photo_question":"","_ek_photo_canonical_claim":"","_ek_photo_ai_summary":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[31],"tags":[174],"class_list":["post-19930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-philosophy","tag-philosophy-2"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/kyoto.jpg?fit=500%2C500&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19930\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}