"Towardness"

I just finished one of the best books I have ever read. I am generally a pretty tough critic, but this was just amazing: "Infinite Jest" by David Foster Wallace. I very highly recommend it.

One passage really spoke to me. In this bit, the speaker is discussing a filmmaker's work.

The man's Work was amateurish... Was amateurish the right word? More like the work of a brilliant optician and technician who was amateur at any kind of real communication. Technically gorgeous, the Work, with lighting and angles planned out to a frame. But oddly hollow, empty, with no sense of dramatic towardness -- no narrative movement toward a real story, no emotional movement toward an audience.

This struck me, as so many pictures I have taken have nothing in them. There is no towardness. I now realize that this is the reason I'm unhappy with my photos. I must strive to tell a story, something, at least, with each frame.

In my mind, this type of communication to the viewer is more important than the technical aspect. A photo can stand on it's own if it speaks to the audience, but is not technically perfect. A perfect photo that says nothing is usually pretty, but that's all.

On a personal note, I've changed jobs since I last posted here. I am very excited about the change of scenery. I am still in the retail industry, but hope that this career move will help to recharge my personal battery, as it were, and allow me to begin to see things in a different light. I am going to strive to post more often, and make this a useful place to visit, if for nobody but me.

Roadmap

This article is a pretty good place to keep the conversation going. According to Simon Norfolk:

Soon we’ll all be amateur photographers with real money-making jobs on the side that we don’t tell our colleagues about. We need to get over the snobbery attached to that.

I will probably always be an amateur photographer, and this site is dedicated to my desire to take the best photos that I can, as well as excel at my real job.

This post serves as a road map as far as I can currently see. Which is to say, not too far:

• Work-life balance, a decidedly non-photographic topic, but oh-so important.
• Missed opportunities, and what it means to not take the shot when you see it.
• Not being afraid to suck. Most people really do suck, at least at some point, but there is so much fear of sucking. I want to embrace my suck-iness.
• Finding your voice as a photographer.
• Inspiration, and what it means to be inspired

I know that this site isn't going to be my answer for everything, but it will become my own personal place to shine my own shoes, and become a better photographer.