Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/04/09
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]B.D.: >More to the point though, I'd love to see some thoughtful expansions - from >the original posters - on the theme of "I photograph because I can't draw." I enjoy creating. Was never that good in wood shop. Or with most mechanical tasks. I mean, I can fix a toilet, and I can do a simple oil change. I've changed my brake pads under the supervision of somebody who know what he was doing. I've wired a new plug into a circuit breaker in similar circumstances. Repaired drywall. Put up a chain link fence. And what I've realized is that while I like to create, I don't like doing any of that. I'm not especially good at any of the tasks mentioned above. And I don't enjoy doing them. But I like to create. Better scratch them off the list. I can create computer programs, and I do this well. I can figure out how computer systems interact and how they should interact. I do this well. I can translate business needs into technical solutions. I do this well. And I enjoy it. It's a way to create. Something I'm good at. And something I enjoy. I found out that I can create photos. I'll let somebody else argue about whether I'm any good at it or not. But that doesn't really matter, because I enjoy it. :) I like to delude myself into thinking I'm a competent photographer. Again, it's a way to create. Something didn't exist. Now it does. I made it exist. That makes me happy. That gives me satisfaction. Blank paper. Pencil or charcoal. Lines. Shading. Ends up a mess. That doesn't give me satisfaction. It's a way to create, but one at which I'm not good. Nor do I enjoy the process. Which leads back to the original question. So why do I photograph? I enjoy creating. -- Eric http://canid.com/