I have been thinking for about a week now on the common practice of “end of the year” posts. This is natural, as I have been thinking about 2009 as a year in photography, and planning what I would like 2010 to look like. It is, of course the new year already, but I am still very much in a reflective mood.
One of the things that I have been pondering is why I love doing this particular art, as opposed to something else, maybe more tactile, or musical. The honest truth is that there is enough technical stuff in it to be really fun, paired with so many possibilities creatively, that the interplay between the two keeps me really interested. The second part of that answer, and a more important reason, has to do with what we are actually doing when we make a picture. If you stop and think about it, what we do when we make an image is slightly AWESOME. Ok, more than slightly. I press the shutter release button, and the camera, with all its digital workings, records what I am aiming at. And, records it in a way that I can then adjust, fix, beautify, enhance. And, you can then come back to it… and look again. We can see things, people, events, as they happened, and keep them, for as long as we are here, and our children are here. If you let it, the idea is cool enough that it might make you want to be a photographer! The third part of the answer has to do with the first two, both of which are brought to bear on it. I am crazy about “moments.” These are what every photographer worth there salt is try to get. A wedding/event photographer lives for these. We want to be there, at the right time, with the right settings, from the right perspective, to capture that moment, as it plays out, so that you can remember it. You are living it, and your job is to be there, fully, and love that moment. My job is to give you an image that will take you back there, to that time and place, and help you remember. With a wedding or engagement session, that’s the whole deal, and that is what I love to do.
I want 2010 to be a year of moments. I want to be able to look back over this new year knowing that all along the way I was capturing moments, and sharing them with my clients. I shot a lot of weddings this year, and I enjoyed being there and getting those moments, but I hope to capture many many more.
by Joshua Mahar
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