Photography as Life Affirmation
Yo, what’s poppin’? It’s Dante here, and today I want to dive deep into a philosophy that’s been fueling my life and photography for the past couple of years—a love for life itself.
A Love for Life
Today, I’m thinking about life, affirmation, photography, and what that means to me. This is a philosophy I’ve been approaching every day for the past two years, and I find it brings ultimate joy to my life.
I have this immense biophilia. Bio meaning life. Philia meaning love.
I have a love for life, a lust for life itself. I love all living things. I love the plants, the trees, the bees.
I enjoy my time in the city, surrounded by chaos. I love walking through the mall just to be around other people. I love photographing people.
I love working in nature. In the greenhouse here in Philadelphia, I tend plants. I have an appreciation for green spaces, for humanity, for all living things.
Photography as Affirmation
Through photography, I believe we can uplift humanity, champion the human experience, and perhaps elevate it to new heights through the photographs we create.
But on a personal level—disregarding the photographs themselves—I find that photography fuels my life with meaning.
When I’m out there making a photograph, this is me saying yes to life itself. With each click of the shutter, it’s like a lifeline, a stream of becoming.
When you detach from the outcome or the result of the photograph, that’s where true joy can be found. The process of making photographs becomes an end in itself.
The Joy of the Process
It’s an autotelic approach, where the goal is just to make photographs and affirm life. When I affirm life through the camera—by saying yes, looking at life with wonder and awe, questioning why and what—there, I find joy.
When I’m photographing and not thinking about what exactly I’m capturing, but merely looking at life and saying yes to it, I feel bliss.
This is the ultimate way I’ve found to approach photography.
The Camera as a Compass
The superpower of photography is simple. I see the camera almost like a compass. When you step into the world, it can feel overwhelming. There’s chaos, transience, fleeting moments, unpredictability, spontaneity. But through the camera, by putting four corners around life, I affirm that chaos.
I put order to the chaos. That fuels my life with purpose and moves me forward every day, using curiosity as my guide and the camera as my compass.
No matter where I am or what situation I find myself in, I can always find meaning in the mundane. By recognizing the beautiful patterns and intricate details of life, I can lift the ordinary to the extraordinary.
Immersion in the Present
Despite external or internal circumstances, nothing can break my spirit. When I have a camera in my pocket, on my wrist, or around my neck, I have the ability to create something from nothing.
It’s about being detached from the result, but so immersed in the present moment and details around you. This becomes a meditative practice.
Of course, we all have a past and a future. But when you’re not dwelling on either and exist in the present moment, so close to life—this is bliss.
Fueling Life with Meaning
Through walking, moving, and experiencing life’s complexities, I affirm my existence. I affirm humanity. I affirm life itself.
When I’m photographing and chipping away at life, I hope to get closer to what it means to live. Through that search, I fuel my life with meaning.
No matter what I’m photographing or what the result might be, it’s not my concern. My concern is fueling my love for life each day.
Falling in Love with Life
As photographers, we should find joy in life itself. The process is where the beauty lies.
The photographs we create come from our hearts and how we see the world. They are our love letters to life.
And for me, that’s the ultimate goal: to fall in love with life every single day.