JPG: Stories: How To: Whatever Interests Me

How To

Whatever Interests Me

By John Caruso

26 Nov 2008

One of the more thought-provoking questions I am asked would also seem to be the easiest to answer: "What do you like to shoot?"

For the longest time, I had a very difficult time answering that question succinctly because I do not feel my photography falls into any one instantly recognizable category. It was often easier to say what I am by listing what I'm not: I'm not a portrait photographer; I'm not a studio photographer; I'm not a wedding photographer; I'm not a stock photographer. If pressed to put a label on my work, I would often say I'm a "fine-art photographer." But even that sounded too vague...and still didn't answer the question, "What do you like to shoot?"

So, what to say?

Ultimately, I can only say, "whatever interests me." On the surface, this doesn't feel like a very satisfying answer, but bear with me because it is the truth. Even though I like to shoot "whatever interests me," there are some themes that run through those interests. In the broadest sense, I like to make photographs of everyday objects and scenes: a dumpster in an alley, a shuttered building, a retired train car, or an old marquee. More specifically, I like to give these items and scenes their own context in order to see them in new, surprising, or interesting ways. By highlighting something, even isolating it, we are given the opportunity to take a breath, appreciate a moment without worrying that it's going to disappear (which is one of the great powers of photography, in my opinion), and see form, design, and color without the clutter and baggage of excess environment. Perhaps that sounds a bit highfalutin or even pedantic, but in the end, for me, that is at the very essence of what makes photography such an accessible art form.

As a rule, I do not head out, camera in hand, with a check-list or an agenda to make photographs. Rather than seeking out a photograph (or even worse, forcing one), I let the photographs come to me. I like to go on photo excursions: just set aside a day to wander, look, and photograph. I may choose a town to explore or I may just drive around until inspiration hits. Some of those days, I'll spend hours with my camera and not make a single exposure. Other days, I'll come back from an outing with two hundred or more photographs. But I don't need to be on a photo-excursion to find subjects. Sometimes, I may be at home, or at work, or just "out and about" and all of a sudden I see something that I like, that I find interesting, and I make an exposure.

I've also found that I have a very difficult time staging photographs. On the rare occasions where I've tried to set up a scene which I thought would be interesting, inevitably the resulting photographs turned out cold, stilted, and, frankly, staged. As a result, I prefer to shoot a scene or an object just as I find it.

For instance, if I tried to drop a bag of candy just so, I would not have been able to reproduce the genuine quality of real bag of spilled candy. If I had tried to create the perfect scattering in the perfect gutter, the resulting image would have fallen flat, not rung true. There are people who are masters at staging photographs, and I salute them. That is not my bailiwick and so I spend my creative time in other ways.

No...instead i find inspiration by not looking for it at all.

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Hi there!

thought you might like this submission to JPG Magazine. If you do, vote it up!

http://jpgmag.com/stories/9211

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13 responses

Michael Adams gave props (26 Nov 2008):
Great article. I like your train of thought!
Elise Ange gave props (27 Nov 2008):
Nice essay...I agree with you!
Rebecca Culver gave props (27 Nov 2008):
Loved it, and I agree!
John Caruso said (27 Nov 2008):
Thanks a million for reading it Michael, Elise, and Becky!
Robert Coury gave props (28 Nov 2008):
Great shots! Love it.
Joven DelaCruz gave props (28 Nov 2008):
True. Cool article.
John Caruso said (28 Nov 2008):
Thanks for reading Robert and Joven...I really do appreciate it!
Niki Conolly gave props (17 Dec 2008):
Boy do I know exactly what you mean! I still haven't had time to go thru all the photos, but I will! Just wanted to let you know I had gotten this far :D
John Caruso said (17 Dec 2008):
Oh don't worry, Niki! Please take all the time you'd like, I'm in no rush! Thanks for getting this far!
Solveig Petch gave props (29 Dec 2008):
Great article - I am much the same, preferring to let the inspiration find me rather then the other way round.
John Edwin May said (10 Jan 2009):
This should be in "Personal Posts" instead of "How To." This article is what you do, which is very interesting.
Josephine Sicad gave props (13 Jan 2009):
Hats off! I so agree with every word. =)
John Caruso said (14 Jan 2009):
Thanks Solveig, John, and Josephine. I appreciate you taking a look. And thank you, too, John for the suggestion. I will be more conscious of that.