The Role of Photography in People's Lives: Keeping the Memories Fresh

Firstly, I wish to ask you a question to think about, are memories made from photos, or are they purely in your head? When we look at a photograph we often forget that this is not an image taken by a camera but rather it's a moment of someone’s life, captured, and kept forever. A photograph tells the entire story of life; happiness, joy, misery, patience, grace, and all the possible human emotions squished and stored into one single frame. In my opinion, this is the most challenging but also on the flip side, it is the most creatively pleasing aspect of photography.

Not only throughout my time practicing photography, but in life, I have been inspired to do more than just take a photo or the easy option, but to tell a story, my story.

You may be thinking; so where did this concept of photography come from? Well, it first came into focus in the early 19th century when concepts of positivist science came into the frame. Their theory believed that a photograph is not only subjective to the psychology of the photographer but is also subjective to the viewer's interpretation of the photograph and their interpretation of life. This is key to photography, how each different person views an image. How someone views an image is key to if they will remember it for a lifetime or if it will just be another photo in the big box filled with all your childhood moments put away in a dark, dusty place.

Flashback to the year 2009. I was six years old and that's where my roots in photography began. I remember seeing my mum using a Polaroid camera, it was quite bulky and extremely boxy. All you had to do was point it and shoot, simple as ABC. I was absolutely fascinated by this camera. The whole idea that you can point, take a picture, and then instantly print it was absolutely mind-blowing, even if it was only in black and white. Granted I was 6 and still believed in Santa and the Easter bunny; however, that whole concept still amazes me to this day with technological advancements happening every second. That was when my whole photography journey began. Every photo, every moment will always be captured from now on.

Fast forward a couple of years and I started getting cameras here and there, most being disposable cameras and one point and shoot camera by Sony. I was pretty terrible, to say the least. I had zero ideas about what exposure, aperture, ISO, or white balance even was. I would just set it to auto, point the camera, and see how it turned out. That was how I viewed life, just in auto, plain sailing along hoping for the best. For a while all I did was shoot and live in Auto; it was the easy option, plain sailing, no extra effort. My life seemed to be a blur, overexposed, it was not how I wanted it. Do I finally decide to dabble in the manual mode on my camera after about a year of not getting the results I wanted in auto mode? Although it was rather hard for a while it was the best thing I could have done to become a better photographer and a better version of myself. Using manual opened up so many new doors for creativity and paths for life that Auto just couldn't do. By playing around with my camera, that is where I started seeing life through a lens. I started to see clearly and I could decide exactly what I wanted the end product to be.

It was about a year and a half ago today I discovered my main source inspiration for photography; Peter McKinnon. I found him the same way I broadcast my photos for the world to see, the internet. He opened my eyes to how much more there is to life than just-auto. By using and showing people creative techniques to help you stand out from the crowd and explore the visual element in the world of photography he had helped me open my shutter to new, exciting changes.

I feel that photography has brought me out of ashes, my shell, my comfort zone and has brought me into my very own spotlight, this is all thanks to changing my view to manual from the auto. This is where I go to deal with things; happy, sad, or any other expression. All I do is pick up my camera an escape into my own world, another dimension even. Before I discovered the joys of photography I believed it was only for old people, but I could not have been more wrong. It has broadened my horizons and expanded my picture and knowledge of the world we live in. It is an adrenaline rush for me, my shutter speed increases when you are rushing to get that top shot that is going to stand out from the crowd. That’s what I feel you need to do with photography, be creative, stand out and say 'Yes!' To any opportunity you get.

My final edit about how I got into photography was rather short and simple, but the process of becoming a good photographer took me years to master and fine-tune. I still consider myself an 'amateur' photographer and I still think personally I have a lot to learn. I found it was a huge learning curve that paid off in the end and has changed my outlook and exposure to life. I have discovered after taking over 60 thousand photographs; in the world of photography, it is always quality over quantity. So I will leave you with the last and final shutter.