Never stop changing

With every click of the shutter, I’m saying yes to life. I have an insatiable curiosity and photography provides me with the excuse to feed my urge, my yearning, to learn more. From this state of curiosity, every fleeting moment becomes something I am wanting to know more about. I am curious about society, culture, people, nature, philosophy, places, and history. If I were to deny myself of curiosity, as if I am some master who knows everything, how will I ever grow?

The key to growth is that is endless. You will never reach your final form.

Heraclitus said,

You cannot step in the same river twice.

What this means is, we are in a constant state of change, always evolving, as this I believe is the ultimate goal of humanity. We must evolve, change, and by saying yes, more, we can achieve this evolution that we seek.

One way that I’ve decided to evolve is by simply photographing more, in a spontaneous way, with a compact, digital camera, in high contrast black-and-white. What this allows me to do is play more, photograph more, and enjoy the process.

I’m no longer searching for moments, but I simply let life flow towards me, as I realize that the pictures I’m curious about making appear when you simply let go. 

Photography is a stream of becoming. Do not pigeon hole yourself, limit yourself, but go boundless, untethered, tiny dogma, or traditional ways of doing things. There are no rules, there are no guidelines, to what makes street photography.

Research

When I consider research, I consider my photographic practice, through traveling, exploring, and embracing adventure. By throwing myself out there onto the front lines of life, I can experience life with all of its complexities in the real world. The more that I contemplate my photographs, I consider them as research, as me learning, unlearning, and re-learning again and again through the act of making the photograph and then reviewing the photograph.

However, I believe to research through books, documentaries, and studying, before experiencing life, is perhaps foolish as an artist.

I find that by embracing life without preconceived notions, I am more surprised by my findings, and often times learn more through letting go of what I think I already know.

Research is a constant state. We are always researching, through each step we make, each click of the shutter, learning, unlearning, and relearning again. Enjoy the process, the journey, and say yes more.