1/250th of a Second and a Life Time

Yesterday someone asked me how long does it take to get a photo. Usually less than a second. But taking the photo is only the beginning of what iI do. Time at the computer varies as to what I want to get out of the photo. One photo might only take 10 minutes while another one might take a 8 hours a day for a week (not an exaggeration).

But in reality, it takes my entire life. It's not a thought that is unique to me, I have read it before when an artist is asked how long did it take to make a painting..." my entire life." I have spent years perfecting my camera skills, millions of photos taken literally. Add to that, hundreds of books read about not just photography but composition and art. All of that experience goes into the images I make. Add in all the pain and joy, that has shaped my view of the world and the need to create some reflection of what I see as art.

Often, I am told my work has an emotional element to it which I think comes from years of social work and seeing so much pain and seeking out the balance of beauty in nature. (that might be my interpretation as to why I seek out what I do). Very often the photos that touch me deeply resonate with others, I think they do because in them I reveal a bit of my heart's longing to escape the darkness of life. I think that might be my cause for shooting subjects that have so much light and dark.

Be it me or another artist, the time with camera or canvas matters little, it the time spent engaging life that makes us who we are and who we are is reflected in our art.