{"id":20735,"date":"2014-09-29T13:37:18","date_gmt":"2014-09-29T20:37:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=20735"},"modified":"2014-09-29T16:17:18","modified_gmt":"2014-09-29T23:17:18","slug":"purpose-street-photo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/29\/purpose-street-photo\/","title":{"rendered":"On Purpose and Street Photography"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Berkeley,
Berkeley, 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m currently reading a book titled: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Happiness by Design: Change What You Do, Not How You Think<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. In the book, the author defines happiness as being primarly composed of two things: pleasure and purpose. To find \u00e2\u20ac\u0153optimal\u00e2\u20ac\u009d happiness in life, the author encourages us to find a balance between pleasure and purpose in our life.<\/p>\n

I have read dozens of books on the topic of happiness. When I studied sociology as an undergraduate I would ask myself questions such as: Why is it that the richest people in the world are often the most miserable people? How much money do you need to be really happy? Does more money bring you happiness? What things could I do (or change) in my everyday life to make me be more happy?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I think as street photographers (and human beings), we are all trying to seek happiness. Even though there are dozens of ways to define happiness\u00e2\u20ac\u201c I think the author of the book I am talking about makes a great point: purpose is greatly tied into our sense of happiness.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Happiness: Pleasure + purpose<\/h2>\n

I think it is obvious that pleasure is a big part of what makes us happy. However, the part that gets neglected is our sense of purpose (in the search for happiness).<\/p>\n

The author says that happiness is a balancing act between finding pleasure and purpose in our lives. So if happiness was a pendulum, it constantly rocks between pleasure (on the left), and purpose (on the right).<\/p>\n

So to create a diagram, happiness is something like this:<\/p>\n

Pleasure <-> Purpose<\/p>\n

The author says that when we seek too much pleasure in our lives, it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t bring us a true sense of contenment\u00e2\u20ac\u201c because our lives aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t purposeful enough. However when we focus too much on a sense of purpose, we forgo seeking pleasure in our everyday lives.<\/p>\n

My definition of happiness (remixed)<\/h2>\n

Although the author has a convincing definition of happiness\u00e2\u20ac\u201c I would modify it a bit. I do believe that pleasure and purpose do bring happiness. However, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe happiness is a balancing act between pleasure and purpose. I think happiness should be much more focused on purpose (than pleasure). I believe when we seek purpose, pleasure will follow.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Therefore to illustrate my view, refer to the diagram below:<\/p>\n

Purpose -> Pleasure -> Happiness<\/p>\n

I think that by seeking purpose, it will lead us to having pleasure, and ultimately bring us happiness in life.<\/p>\n

This is similar to the idea of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153flow\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c that we are happiest when we are \u00e2\u20ac\u0153in the zone\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of our creative activities, and we lose a sense of time when we are working on something purposeful and challenging. To expand on the idea, I recommend reading my article: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153On Going with the Flow and Street Photography<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

Purpose in street photography<\/h2>\n

I think many of us go out and shoot street photography because it brings us pleasure. Many of us have stressful jobs, stressful family lives\u00e2\u20ac\u201c and street photography is a way for us to escape some of the bullshit of everyday life.<\/p>\n

I think street photography is the best natural stress reliever. Street photography gives us the opportunity to go out on a walk\u00e2\u20ac\u201c to connect with the world, to connect with other human beings, and to make art. It gives us a zen-like state of mind, and brings us contentment in our lives.<\/p>\n

However what I find after a while\u00e2\u20ac\u201c many (once) beginner street photographers become dissatisfied with their work. I know personally when I started shooting street photography, I was perfectly content just walking on the streets and finding interesting snapshots of everyday life. However as time went on, it felt all a bit pointless. I would ask myself, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Why am I doing this?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d At the time, I was more interested in making photos to get lots of likes\/favorites on Facebook and Flickr\u00e2\u20ac\u201c than making a body of work that was meaningful.<\/p>\n

The shift<\/h2>\n

I then started to study the work of the masters, and invest more in photo books (instead of gear). I soon started to realize that the photographers whose work I greatly admired were creating books, exhibitions, and bodies of work. They weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t on Facebook, Flickr (and now Instagram)\u00e2\u20ac\u201c just trying to build a large following and trying to get lots of little pink stars and hearts on their photos.<\/p>\n

At the time, I recently got laid off my old job (working a corporate job)\u00e2\u20ac\u201c and I thought of starting on a photography project. I decided to try to photograph my experiences working corporate\u00e2\u20ac\u201c and started my \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Suits\u00e2\u20ac\u009d project, which was about my stresses\/anxieties working for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the man\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c worrying about making more money, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153keeping up with the Jonses\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, and trying to gain power and status.<\/p>\n

The project (still ongoing) gave me a larger sense of purpose. I felt that now when I was out shooting, it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t pointless or simply self-gratuitous. I had a purpose: I would go out and shoot for my \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Suits\u00e2\u20ac\u009d project, to ultimately share my experiences and stresses of working as a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Suit\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Through the project, I hope that other people (who currently or used to) work corporate can be influenced in a positive way\u00e2\u20ac\u201c perhaps rethinking their fascination with money or power, and realizing that money doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t buy you happiness (or purpose).<\/p>\n

Finding purpose in your photography<\/h2>\n

I think ultimately you should shoot street photography because you enjoy it\u00e2\u20ac\u201c it brings you pleasure, and brings you happiness. However if you are having some sort of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153mid-life\u00e2\u20ac\u009d street photography crisis\u00e2\u20ac\u201c I encourage you to ask yourself the following questions:<\/p>\n