[Leica] ramblings on the photographic struggle:

[Tristan Tom <Tristan@TristanTom.COM>]

<http://www.tristantom.com/photostruggle/>

you cannot achieve pure and salient photographs unless you are first 
and foremost truly living life to it's fullest. don't just set out to 
take pictures, set out to experience things, to travel the streets 
and to make a point of observing while living. you are the 
participant and the camera is along for the ride, observing your 
experiences and interactions with the people and the places of the 
world. don't obsess over taking pictures to the point that it 
inhibits you from true experiences.

people often to worry obsessively about the care of their prized 
possession cameras. they worry so much that they are afraid to 
venture out into the world and even use their cameras. I've fallen 
prey to this mentality myself. but unless you are out in the world 
with your camera ready and willing to snap a photo at any moment, 
undistracted by inhibitions, you have no chance of capturing any 
worthwhile image. go ahead, take some risks and you will end up being 
rewarded with images that others didn't have the guts to complete.

cameras are a tool and you should use them as a tool. you wouldn't 
buy a hammer only to put it away and not hammer any nails with it, 
would you? your camera should be hammering out pictures and if you 
aim to be a successful and prolific photographer, your camera will 
exhibit war scars which only adds to it's character and personality.

years down the road, you can revel with your trusty camera in your 
hands, reminiscing the poignant times you had while you were out 
making great photographs. but the difference is that you won't 
remember making the photographs. instead you will remember the 
experiences you had while living your life. your camera will have the 
war scars to prove that it was there (perhaps you will too), you will 
have powerful images, but most importantly, you will have lived a 
full and complete life with few regrets of roads not taken.

and so this continues to be the struggle for me; to take pictures 
yes, but to be there in the first place...


- -Tristan Tom