"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.