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It might sound strange to use the verb “Love” in the title of a rant. But here goes.
I love photography.
Why am I telling you this? Isn’t it self-obvious? Don’t we all love photography? The answer is no. There is a percentage of photographers who hate photography. They do not appreciate photography. They do not consume photography. They don’t look at photo books or photo magazines. They hate the guy with the iPhone taking Instagram shots. They hate the guy who just bought the D4 because they don’t have one. They hate people using digital because film is what real artists use. They hate photographers who embrace social media because images should stand on their own. They hate Getty, Corbis, the AP, day rates, photo editors, assistants, rental houses, camera stores, point-and-shoots, iPads, zoom lenses, padded camera straps, wheeled suitcases, younger photographers, older photographers. The photo of so-and-so on the cover of whatever it’s called sucks. That guy copied the other guy, he sucks. Terry Richardson sucks. Chuck Close sucks. Vincent Laforet hasn’t taken a still in 17 years. Kodak hasn’t been managed well since the 70s. Blah, blah, blah.
I love photography. Let me show you why.
This was my favorite image of 2011 shot by Rich Lam for Getty Images during the rioting that occurred after Game 7 of the Stanley Cup. It’s amazing. It’s a crazy juxtaposition of love amidst protest, which was such a dominant theme this year. As many people have commented, it’s a modern day From Here to Eternity. You look at it and you think, “What the hell is going on?” And then you hear the back story and it’s even more amazing that it happened and someone was there to capture it. I’d like to hang it on my wall.
Rüdiger Nehmzow took these incredible photos of clouds from an open door of a plane. Who does that? He’s not complaining about Terry Richardson. He’s too busy creating amazing photos. Speaking of which…
People say the guy has no talent. They hate the on-camera flash. But you know what? That’s Terry Richardson‘s thing. That’s what he does. Do you have a thing? Are you known for your visual style? Sure, maybe you could have taken better photos of Lady Gaga if you had access. But you didn’t. Terry did because he built a reputation and a career. And this photo happens to have some Italian chick with a big nose washing her face and smiling, oh and by the way, she’s an incredibly creative and talented mega star. I was in Tokyo over the New Year’s drinking a coffee in a bookstore, and I flipped through the entire book. Hey man, she was born that way.
This is perhaps the scariest thing I’ve ever seen in my life from the Mainichi Shinbun (literally “Daily Newspaper”). It’s a black wall of water crashing over a seawall from the Tohoku earthquake that killed nearly 16,000 people. I saw a stupid Matt Damon movie called “Hereafter” that had a CGI tsunami. Then I saw video of the real thing, and I was speechless. A tsunami isn’t a wave. It’s a wall.
My high school hired me to take a series of portraits of Bay Area alumni, so I hired my buddy Max Morse to assist me. Here was the set up shot. I really like it. I posted it on his Facebook wall, and he made it his profile picture. I once made a photo that Missy McLamb took of me into my Facebook profile picture. She commented back that it was the highest compliment. I didn’t fully grok what she meant at the time, but now I do.
2011 marked the ten year anniversary of September 11. I live a few blocks from Ground Zero, so I walked down with my camera hoping to make an iconic shot. But it was cloudy as all hell, and I couldn’t see the towers of light piercing into the night sky. Then I see Eric Thayer‘s photo. Where was I? How much more uplifting could a ten year anniversary photo of 9/11 be?
Reuter’s journalist Barry Malone captured this image near Somalia. The juxtaposition is boggling. Guy in suit. Dead cow that is so starved it looks like a leather jacket. And craziest of all, he’s using an iPad as a camera — a scene that couldn’t have existed until last year since the iPad 2 came out in the Spring. Since then, I’ve seen this all the time. In fact, my father uses his iPad as a camera.
Protests were happening everywhere from Wall Street to Tahrir Square. And in Greece where economic issues are abound, Nodas Stylianidis captured this self-immolation photo, which of course, reminds me of Malcolm Browne‘s photo from Vietnam.
Peggy Sirota took these funny photos of comedian Ken Jeong photo bombing super model Kate Upton. I wrote a blog about it. People got upset. Said it was gross. Said it was demeaning. But I laughed when I saw the photos. It made me happy. It’s poking fun at the very things that are supposed to be demeaning. Are you trying to convince me that this is perpetuating negative stereotypes?
My high school classmate Tina and I share a stupid on-going exchange about Nicolas Cage, who has had his share of problems. When my birthday rolled around, she didn’t resort to the typical “happy birthday, allen!” wall post. No, no. She made a composite. It’s some sort of horse head nebula. With a cupcake. And Nic Cage’s floating head atop the cupcake. It’s amazing. This photo, by the way, is perpetuating negative stereotypes of Nic Cage Nebula Cupcake photos.
I love photography.
There’s a teenager in Japan named Natsumi Hayashi. She had some average Canon DSLR, but she came up with this concept to take self-portraits that look like she’s levitating. She takes a few hundred images jumping up and down and trying to strike the right pose. She has a Facebook Fan Page and lots of people take homage shots, but they’re just jumping in the air. They don’t levitate. They don’t jump 100 times for the perfect image. They don’t do it over the course of a few years to make it their own. She’s just a girl with a camera, and then all of a sudden she got a gallery show and a 5D, and I was really psyched for her. Her photos inspired me to levitate, and what could be a greater gift?
I love photography.
Tech. Sgt. Manuel J. Martinez of the US Air Force took this photo of a Special Operations dog jumping out of a plane. I’ve seen a few images similar to this. It’s amazing. It’s amazing that a dog helped Seal Team 6 kill Osama bin Laden. It’s amazing that dogs jump out of planes with people. It’s amazing that military personnel are there to photograph this stuff, and even more amazing that it gets published.
Tony Cenicola humorously photograped a chicken to accompany a New York Times article on cooking with chicken skin. On the Lens blog, reader Carol J. Adams commented:
“Not only has the Times featured a misogynistic image, they are now celebrating it by discussing it in a blog? This is the sexual politics of meat; it is about sexualizing the dead flesh of an animal by associating it with women’s bodies. It is anti-woman, it is anti-animal; it’s a pathetic, dated, sensibility. All around the world meat companies have beaten you to this. This is a new low for the Times. Beheaded female bodies as attractive? Just who do you think you are eating?”
ScottA responded:
“@Carol J. Adams – Your comment does not hold weight with its own blatant disrespect for the male form that is Burt Reynolds. Why your mind took an innocent image of a chicken, and associated it with a female body is beyond me.”
It is a chicken, right? I dunno, I get confused between people and chicken sometimes.
While some photographers complain about stolen images, security and thumbnail sizes, editor Alan Taylor went in the opposite direction. In 2008, he created the Boston Globe’s “The Big Picture” which was one big page of lots of incredible photos that were 990 pixels wide. No tiny thumbnails, no watermarks, no Flash, no bullshit slideshows that were only developed to create page inventory against which to sell ads. Nope. The Big Picture was about showcasing photography, and it’s glorious.
He was so successful that The Atlantic hired him away in early 2011 to start In Focus, which continues the large format tradition.
My friend Caroline doesn’t own a camera. She keeps using the crappy camera on her Blackberry. But it doesn’t matter. It’s not always about the quality of the image, or the composition, or the lighting. Sometimes it’s just about the people in the image and the feeling that it elicits. She went back home to Chicago this summer and had brunch with her mom. Someone took a photo with that crappy little cellphone, and now they can remember that brunch forever.
My best friend got married in September, and I took this photo of him hugging his father at the rehearsal dinner. It’s a pretty crappy photo. The light was really orange, and this was the best I could do with the white balance. His father’s face is obscured, but it’s an honest photo.
Last week, his father passed away following heart surgery. I knew his father for 20 years. I saw my first snow at their house over Christmas break in 1994, where I also did my first snow angel at the age of 18. I spent hours at the piano while his father played the guitar. I spent hours at the computer looking at all his father’s flower photos. Tell me that this is a shitty photo. (It is) Tell me that you could have done better. (You could have) Tell me that I didn’t need a $5000 camera to capture this. (I didn’t) Then tell me how I would feel without this photo, and tell me how photography sucks.
The business of photography is undergoing massive change. People who used to make a ton of money aren’t making the same money any more. Amateurs are giving away photos for free. I totally get it.
But listen. There are so many more incredible photos today than there ever were. And more people consume more photography than they ever did thanks to things like Facebook, Instagram, iPads, blogs, and “best of” compilations. This is the golden age of photography. Everyone takes photos now, and there is inspiration all around us. History is being made, and we’re capturing it.
I love photography.
I really hope people read this blog. One of the best I’ve ever read :) thanks! I really just want to grab my camera and go take pictures right now and I miss that feeling.
I thoroughly enjoyed this, and I too LOVE photography. Well written and a beautiful compilation of images! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for this. It’s probably the most enjoyable rant I’ve read in a long time. Photography, unfortunately, is not a universal haven from greed, jealousy, and self-righteousness, nor can we expect it to be. Luckily for those of us who do love photography, it’s easy to block out the haters and pick up our cameras.
Wow. I absolutely love the sentiment of this essay. Thank you.
first image isn’t ‘love’… she was trampled in the crowd and her boyfriend is trying to comfort her while waiting for paramedics.
:-) Luv this, thanks for sharing! It’s so easy to get caught up in all the bs of the industry. I know I could use this reminder from time to time.
Perfect. Spot on.
Too many haters out there! And you are probably aware how many they are: I hear/read on a daily basis so many complaints by “established” (and narrow minded) photographers on how one should refrain from this activity these days. Yet new opportunities abound for those who love :-)
Love it too!!! amazing article! :)
Thank you for writing this down & putting it out there. I wish I could be so articulate. I’m going to share it on G+. I’m going to bookmark it & give the URL to particularly hateful haters. If you’re ever in Atlanta, let me buy you a drink!
Thanks Allen, Please, rant away. We photographers sometimes don’t express this sheer joy and passion for what we do enough.
I too love photography. That’s why I’m a photographer not a lawyer or banker or checkout operator. That’s why I’ve just written a review of An Inner Silence for my blog. That’s why I need to build some more bookshelves, but then where do I hang the prints? That’s why I’ve always got some type of camera with me. And forty-five years since I was first given a camera that love of photography just keeps getting better.
By the way, the photograph of your friend and his father is perfect, it tells the story.
Ohhhhh this is great. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this post.
This should be one of the top 10 all time best photography related blog posts ever. Seriously. Standing Ovation Allen.
Cheers,
Zack
That was amazing. Thank you.
Fabulous and thoughtful piece, Allen. You’ve eloquently summed up in a perfectly straightforward manner what I’ve been thinking for a long time. Awesome post!
Beautifully written. Thank you! I’m so excited to be a part of this golden age, too!
I can’t even BEGIN to tell you how much I love this blog entry. You say so many things that I think to myself so often but have never voiced and you’ve said them much better than I could have. I love photography too, and thank you from the bottom of my heart for writing about your love for it.
Thoughtful and heartening, Allen, one wouldn’t expect any less from someone who flosses daily :-) AND YET: one of my clients told me this week that i’d have a lot more work if my rates were less than half of where they are now. Tell me where the opportunity is in that statement? Work three times as much to earn what I did 3 years ago? I’m not combative, I’m confused. I love images, but the daily slog to earn a living as a photographer is different than where you sit, running a great company. Or so it seems to me.
Wow. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Hi,
I agree with most of what you said but I don’t have a problem with Terry Richardson because of his style, he’s just a gross human being as noted here: http://jezebel.com/5494634/meet-terry-richardson-the-worlds-most-fked-up-fashion-photographer
More importantly, there are always people who will be negative because negativity is an excuse for not going as far as you want to. I’m glad you showed people that are just creating stuff whether paid or personal work.
Awesome. Awesome blog post. I share your thoughts and love photography as well, and it is great to hear others do as well.
@ScottWilliams Love doesn’t have to be all butterflies and rainbows. A boyfriend comforting his girlfriend who just got trampled isn’t love? To me that is the ultimate gesture of love, to stay with someone, to comfort them when they are down, both metaphorically, and in this case literally.
In an accessible way, you have managed to speak a profound truth that needs to be acknowledged in not only this industry, but in our global community. Hate only begets hate. Rather than spending time hating on others for “taking” what you think is yours. Get busy making something your own.
“Any great art work … revives and readapts time and space, and the measure of its success is the extent to which it makes you an inhabitant of that world – the extent to which it invites you in and lets you breathe its strange, special air.”
― Leonard Bernstein
I want to scream this from the mountain tops. Beautiful post. Thank you!
Incredible post. The GQ one was one of my favorite shots as well.
Thank you for the inspiration
respect…..great piece…oh, and i burst out laughing when I scrolled down to the chicken shot. epic!
@Scott Williams – Seriously? Seriously? Really? Seriously? Really? For real? Could you miss the entire point of this blog post any more than you just did? :)
This is such wonderful and important commentary, Allen. Beautiful and so very relevant. Thank you!
Meredith
[...] http://blog.photoshelter.com/2012/01/rant-i-love-photography/ [...]
Great Rant.
As for the first image – I guess an accurate caption goes a long way. Sans the correct knowledge of the shot I would have said: The two people overcome with sexual passion at the conclusion of a game is an incredible shot. I think that the Gustav Klimit image of a kiss would come closer to floating my boat.
I don’t see what the issue is with chicken. If you know how packed they are with antibiotics and steroids you wouldn’t want to eat one anyway. Imagine this – if that picture was a woman the breasts would go all the way from the sternum to the hips! Genius of genetic alteration! Most of her comments come from books like this – http://www.amazon.com/Sexual-Politics-Meat-Feminist-vegetarian-Anniversary/dp/1441173285/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328031022&sr=1-1
I love people shots of those in your life that is why I have a whole gallery of them right here on this site. http://f32images.photoshelter.com/gallery/Life-lived-Forward/G0000flnrZaDFthg/P0000q1L0DgkdkZM
Sophie had good comments and I echo them. Something else, with all the cross-pollination of blogs, twitter, facebook, myspace and now G+ it is easy to read one post on someone’s any of the above and assume that you know enough about them to label them a ‘hater’ or a ‘lover’. I have enough “about me” online in 2 blogs (one personal one professional), twitter, Photoshelter, Viewbook, Zenfolio, Blurb and now G+ that to read and understand all of that would take a couple of 8to5 weeks – and I am just one person out there among many that are using social media. How many of us read just one persons comments on something and try to find out why they feel that way. If you don’t take to time to do that every time your read a post and label someone, you are probably going to be mis-informed about what the person is about, or possibly, even what they are referring to.
Another good read is The Unwanted Gaze – interesting stuff on copyright stuff.
I love the images and comments Alan, but like Sophie there really is two sides, or more, to this, like the one comment points out captions are really necessary.
@sophie, i have no doubt that running a photo business is difficult. but so was building photoshelter from scratch. we didn’t inherit the business, and it wasn’t easy building it. it took a vision, lots of hard work, and marketing to the right type of client to be successful. that said, the daily difficulties of running any business shouldn’t distort your appreciation of photography. we were all attracted to photography at some point in our lives (for me, it was junior high), but i’m pretty certain that 100% of photographers never went into the profession because they thought they’d make a ton of money.
Wonderfully written and true. Thanks for sharing these images.
I was ambivalent until the last photo. It brought tears to my eyes. I think you could have done the entire blog just off that photo. That took it to the core of it all. Thanks for the post.
Great post! Exactly what I needed to read/see! Thanks for writing it and sharing those great images.
Really well written, and great choice of photos.
thank you, thank you, thank you.
There are so many pissed off, angry, indignant photographers out there. They feel threatened and insecure and cannot find the joy that you have so eloquently stated here.
This IS the golden age of photography.
I’m one of the momtogs — mammarazzi, mwac, whatever else they call us.
I’m so tired of the freaked out watermarking, the paranoid searches for “stolen” images, the militant orders to not crop or alter photographs. Getting your art stolen or changed sucks, but so does the terrible angry tone of all the photographers out there these days.
Thanks so much for writing an uplifting post and pointing out all the ways a photo can be important and wonderful, no matter if it’s a “crappy” picture or not.
Wow.
I have never read anything about photography that so perfectly captures my feelings about photography! It’s an utterly maddening experience trying to work with people who have been doing this for so long they can no longer register the awe inspiring thing that we are all a part of.
This is perfect. Thank you!
I don’t remember taking the time to leave a comment on a blog, ever. I needed to take a moment to say “wow”, and thank you for the perspective. I spend all day and night looking at photos. PJ on the iPad, wedding photos at work, instagram photos while waiting on line at the grocery, and as many photo books that I can get my hand on. Still, I fall victim of being snide about my peers and obnoxiously pointing out fauxtographers on Facebook. This article grounded me a bit, and my god is it inspiring.
This is a must read for everyone in the business. Cheers.
This captures my sentiments perfectly, and reignited the feelings of loving the art of light all over again. Looking at photos can be just as good as being the person to capture a photo; thank you for reminding me of that.
Fantastically written piece. Thank you.
Lovely post. And you are so right.
Photography should be one of the things that brings people together, not push them apart.
Best to avoid the trends, avoid the moaners, and just go out and take pictures.
Allen….one word….AWESOME!!!! Thank you for a beautifully written & visually exciting reminder of why it’s so important to look past all of the bull$^!t and remember why I got into this profession to begin with! I LOVE this post!!! Almost as much as I love photography! Thanks for sharing!
Christine
Well said. Way too much energy placed in the wrong areas.
Beautifully written. Thank you for sharing it.
Lovely rant Allen, but if that’s a rant then I really must be getting cranky! Color me inspired….
Man I needed this today. Awesome read. I’d like to add, don’t hate the layoffs, paycuts, benefit cuts. Don’t hate the crappy equipment your forced to use or the ridiculous hours. Don’t hate. Remember. Remember the job you love and strive to make it like that again.
I’ve also never understood the hatred of newbiews. Like we didn’t all start shooting sunsets and cute pictures.
Humbling
Thank you!
Fantastic post and thanks for the discussion reset.
PS: I may never be able to disassociate whole chickens from Burt Reynolds ever again and right now I’m not sure how that makes me feel. Damn the Bandit!
Love this post! Great photos come from the heart. I’m tired of all the hating too. There are 6 billion of us on the planet, we’re all going to do it differently.
awesomeness! Thank you!
Scott Williams comment above … Talk about someone randomly proving your point … Doesnt matter what actually happened … (love, violence, trampling, paramedics) … Let the viewer interpret the pic anyway they want … Love it!
Loved the chicken … Visions of Kramer and Neumann
Great article … I love photography and photographers toooo …
wow. i actually didn’t want this to end. very well said and entertaining, too. thank you. i love photography, too.
You’re awesome. I’m picking up what you’re laying down. High five. : ) Really loved all these images you shared.
Really good post! Thank you for sharing, reminding and seeing.
Incredible post with incredible insight. Thanks for sharing and thanks for putting me on to some really talented photographers.
Wonderful story! I recall shooting with a model out on a farm. She brought her little dog and by the end of the shoot he was happy to curled up in my lap in the pickup truck. We must have shot a hundred of them together.
A week later the little dog was run over…she was so grateful for the photos… Life is precious whether the two or four footed kind..
Great post. Whenever I see photographers complain, (and I’m guilty of it as well) I just try and remind them (and myself) that we aren’t digging ditches. We get to make photos for a living. A majority of the photography that has permeated the blogosphere in the past 3-5 years has been pretty average. Not many newer photographers have any deference for the photos that have come before them, plus they think everything is “AMAZING!” They’ve obviously never seen pics of the caliber you posted.
I don’t care what anyone says, Instagr.am still makes me nauseous.
Wonderful post!! Thank you for sharing that.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
I could prattle on more but you nailed it and it is a wonderful WONDERFUL essay. Except for the chicken. That kind of creeps me out in some weird way.
Thank you for writing this!
[...] Rant: I love Photography (A blog post from Allen Murabayashi that has really inspired me as of 5 min… [...]
Allen, Great thoughts….well said!
“…but it’s an honest photo.”
‘Nuff said.
Thanks for your reply, Allen. Yes, you undoubtedly worked hard — very hard — and you had a great vision over that dinner back in 2005. Now you’re ensconced as an industry leader. [Coincidentally, was in NYC today and noticed your lovely offices overlooking Union Square. Nice.] What differs, I guess, is that you moved into a space (in the world, non on USW) that didn’t exist, and have built a giant of a business. 70,000 photographers paying a MINIUM of $10 per month? That’s brilliant. You’ve succeeded where others may have tried by having a superb product, and because you recognized a need.
Photographers didn’t go into photography to be rich, of course. Drive or walk through any upscale neighborhood in this country, and chances are you’ll see the homes of very few photographers. We became photographers for many of the reasons you so eloquently “ranted” about today — and after doing ONLY photography for 30 years I’m amazed I made it this far, and am no less happy now than when I started that I had the privilege of interpreting our world through a viewfinder.
So yes, I love photography. But it is very hard, even on a daily basis, as one looks at one’s work, compares it to the flood of great work out there, feels downward pressure on pricing, etc etc etc. I suppose that’s the price one pays for choosing life with a camera.
In any case, thanks again for the post, and for your response to my comment.
~ s
Beautiful and inspiring. Thank you!
I rarely comment on blogs, but this post is compelling. I LOVE photography too. I need to endeavor to get my head out of my butt more often and create more of what i love and worry less about what other people are doing. Thank you.
Wow, awesome read. If you’re not having fun doing photography, you’re not doing it right. And coincidentally, the first person who ALWAYS comes to mind in regards to fun is Terry Richardson. Like you said, a lot of people don’t like him, but he has a style, energy, and an ability to connect with the subjects he shoots that you don’t see every day. Terry was one the first pros who convinced me when I was first getting started 3 years ago that it’s not about the gear, either!
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Fabulous rant and spectacular photo compilation…thanks for keeping the fire burning! I love my Canon 40D…approaching 15,000 pics in two years…and always thrilled to capture a few of those special moments that don’t come along very often.
[...] love photograpy" – well written article that some of us can be inspired by. Rant: I Love Photography ‹ PhotoShelter Blog James Usually messing around with the M8 and LX5, and occasionally the 7D. Flickr Reply [...]
Great post Allen
LOVE this! Needed to be stated & you did so eloquently. <3
[...] Rant: I Love Photography ‹ PhotoShelter Blog It might sound strange to use the verb “Love” in the title of a rant. But here goes. I love photography. Why am I telling you this? Isn't it self-obvious? Don't we all love photography? The an… [...]
Great post Allen…spot on….photography has always been a part of my life and always will be….and yes, I love photography as well. There is nothing quite like having a visceral reaction to an image…news, sports, art….it doesn’t matter. I’ve always said that “For a picture to be effective…it has to be affective.” And great photography will always affect me…but it is especially true when it come to family. I cherish the photos I have with my dad (who inspired me to get into this business) knowing they are my only visual record of times passed…and moments that will live in my heart…always.
“Tell me that this is a shitty photo. (It is) Tell me that you could have done better. (You could have) Tell me that I didn’t need a $5000 camera to capture this. (I didn’t) Then tell me how I would feel without this photo, and tell me how photography sucks.”
This, to me, said it all. What an absolutely fantastic blog! And I don’t read blogs! It was as if you were looking into my mind and dragging out the very essence of how I feel about photography and photographers.
Every photographer should read this….and be humbled by it. Thank you so much, Allen.
Bloody brilliant!!! Thank you so much.
What a brilliant, heartfelt, and terrific post. I love good writing about as much as I do good photography. What you were able to articulate about photography is everything I’d ever want to say. I seriously appreciate your thoughtful words and excellent reminder as to what’s important in this industry. Very inspiring to a young photographer like myself.
Thank you!
Great post Allen. An eye opener to many and hope to struggling Photogs. Thanks for sharing.
This is great stuff. So well said. We live in a land of plenty (photography-wise) and there’s no point in trying to belittle people. Or, to paraphrase Louis CK, “Everything is amazing, and nobody’s happy.”
[...] 1, 2012 lukerobinsonphoto Leave a comment Go to comments Here’s a great post from Allen Murabayashi of Photoshelter on why we should all just chill out and love photography [...]
This is the kind of thinking that got me in photography in first place. by no means I’m a pro shooter just an enthusiast of this art and reading your article made me realize it once more, i do love photography and the pic of the son with his dad is just what i try to capture that is the style im looking forward to achieve is the meaning of the moment the translation of that piece of time and space that stays 4ever not only for the people on the pic but for the casual viewer as well. thanks for sharing this.
I use film. I am passionate about it. I am sad about the state of analogue photography. I get frustrated, even cross about it. I have an exhibition coming up which I will be using to sing the praises of film. I have no intention of switching to digital, it is just not my voice.
It would be too easy to go on to say I hate digital, to blame it. This blog is a perfect, timely reminder that above and beyond everything we are all photographers. Of why I started taking photographs in the first place, of the joy and love of ‘writing with light’.
Thank you for this, a great read – incredibly uplifting and inspiring,
Straight from the heart Allan. Just like photography should be. Well done.
[...] lascio con due segnalazioni. La prima è questo articolo, dal titolo Rant: I Love Photography. I love [...]
Fantastic! I found this so powerful. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and these images!
A friend if mine posted this link on fb. This is the first time I’ve heard or seen your blog. This article is awesome. I live photography as well and this explains how I feel about it. People like you and those you wrote about inspire me to be a better photographer. Love what you are doing here.
I seriously totally loved reading this post. It made me cry, and I’m not really a crier. And it made me laugh, and I AM a laugher. Thank you so much. It was well written, the pictures rocked, and I am now inclined to go out there and levitate over a posed, uncooked chicken, while holding a picture of Nicolas Cage on a cupcake. I love photography. Thank you.
Well done!!!!! -mM
[...] has enormous potential for success. Even Allen Murabayashi of PhotoShelter believes that this is the golden age of photography. As John Muir once said, "The power of imagination makes us [...]
Wow, what a fabulous post!! Thanks for reminding me that I LOVE PHOTOGRAPHY too. Although with all my grumbling about pricing and competition and the destruction of the industry by the MWAC and such, I forgot somehow. This is a great motivation for me to let go of all that negative energy and focus again on just LOVING photography in all its forms. Maybe that will lead to a year of major inspiration and growth for me. Thanks for this awesome lesson….
Brilliant.
Amazing! This is the best I’ve read about the business, and the craft. Keep it up enjoyed it tremendously!!
Cheers,
-Jason Ryan
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Thanks for sharing Allen! It is a true testament of passion and creativity to the lens no matter what format or conditions – it’s all about making sure it is captured and shared with the rest of world…
[...] http://blog.photoshelter.com/2012/01/rant-i-love-photography/ [...]
my favorite part was comedian Ken Jeong photo bombing super model Kate Upton. and people who said it was demeaning. but a super model looking like she is about to get banged by some guy on a beach, that isnt demeaning? lol people need to lighten up
Fantastic rant! Thank you!!
I use my iPhone every day to capture those moments with my kids that would be gone if I took the time to get out the “big guns” every time. They are not always the best quality, but they fill my heart with joy and make the memories last.
Thank you loving photography like I do!
I couldn’t agree more LOVE THIS POST
Thank you! Thank you so much for this post! I’m going to share it with all my friends.
Perfectly said. Thank you for sharing.
Wow. What an inspiring and moving post. Thank you.
I can’t tell you how much I needed this today.
Thank you! Marvelous:)
Whatever one’s opinion on the subject matter, your ‘rant’ is passionate and beautiful, very much in line with its topic, the love of photography…
That’s pretty perfect.
A great read, thank you
I loved this post. Thanks for sharing it!
[...] love photography” rant post Zack mentioned Pin [...]
Wow, I was getting discouraged because I love photography so much, but always feel like I will never be able to master it or take really good photos. Now I know that I have been ok all along. Thank you.
Fantastic!! Thank you!
Great post – thanks. For me, it’s the fact that your friend will look at that photo and feel his father’s form under his hands, remember the emotions he was experiencing at the instant the shutter clicked and feel his father’s love as expressed at that moment. Absolutely priceless now that his father has gone.
[...] I Love Photography Tweet There was a recent article on Photo Shelter that I feel in love with. Allen Murabayashi wrote about why he loves photography. [...]
[...] Why I Love Photography: This blog post is so simple and amazing. Quit whining and just go out and have fun. [...]
I don’t read blogs, ever. But this was fucking amazing.
Great Rant! I just love taking photos… i love capturing those memories that will be somehow forgotten in my brain, but that would come alive once i look at a picture.
I followed a link to your blog, Allen, from an AnimotoPro tweet and I’m truly glad that I did! I’ve heard this rant from some older photographers from time to time but from one 66 year old computer trainer turned photographer…I agree with what you’ve said. I heard it in the computer industry in Silicon Valley for 30 years. Same rant different products. Computer mmory was $50,000 a byte and now it’s nearly free…how can we make a living on that they said. But yet the industry still lives and thrives and so do good photographers. We have to remember that we are illustrators and story tellers first and picture-takers second. How a person feels when they view a photograph makes all the difference. We have the ability to show only what helps the story. An Emmy winning videographer friend of mine once said, “It doesn’t have to be, it just has to look like it is.” When I shoot a landscape I do my best and I only have to please me. But when I shoot a wedding or gathering of people I try to see them through the eyes of a loved one. And the bonus is if they like the pictures they will buy them.
Long time ago I worked for a small newspaper in the Bay Ara.. my boss – the managing editor was a Harvard educated totally socialist hippie.. His favorite word for things that he REALLY like was “Brill” I adopted it and only use it sparingly, to keep it elevated… that being said..
that sir was Brill.
-Adam™
I read the whole thing. You are so cool. The words are so perfect. The images out of this world.
KOWAWA Allen, your article soo KOWAWA… i do Love KOWAWA @hunggul
I’m an amateur who is captivated by the visual. Thanks for the rant. Sometimes it’s all about capturing a memory – even with a cellphone.
This post got right under my skin … there is no spotlight which could point better than you did …brilliant … Thanks for sharing!
[...] • The most important article I read all week. A lot of you know how I feel about the awful negativity that is pervasive in the photography industry, I am glad to see blogs like that that are taking a stand against it and showing what they love about photography instead. | I love Photography. [...]
Enjoyed the reading this rant… I liked how you put things in perspective! Keep it coming!
[...] Rant: I Love Photography| Photoshelter [...]
[...] Via Photoshelter: Rant: I Love Photography. Well [...]
[...] några dagar sen kom jag över denna text från Photoshelter: Rant: I Love Photography. Den sammanfattar väldigt bra vad det handlar om, alla fotografer borde läsa den. Jag älskar [...]
Fantastic piece Allen – very uplifting. The chicken made me laugh; so much of it did. Now I have to share it. And tomorrow and forever more I will take more photos – I love photography!
[...] or even partaking in from time to time. But at the end, I’m certain we all love photography, just like Allen Murabayashi does. I love [...]
[...] keep taking pictures I think everyone interested in photography should give this blog post a read http://blog.photoshelter.com/2012/01/rant-i-love-photography/Post InfoWritten by nspphotoPosted in BlogFebruary 5, 2012No commentsRecent Posts I Love [...]
This blog post is an example of one of the many reasons why I’ve joined PhotoShelter
Bravo!!! One of the best blog’s I’ve ever read, I was cheering with tears in my eyes as I read this ……..just superb.
Fantastic posting, Allen! Took me a few days to get to it … Wow! The range of vision and emotion is sooo inspiring. The last photo and story was a perfect ending and poignantly brings to focus that it really is all about who is in the picture. Thanks for an inspiring read!
Allen. You are both amazing and inspirational, Keep motivating us old photogs to never stop. I promise to keep FEELING the passion of photographing and befriending people worldwide as a result of a camera around my neck and your love of photography. Your rant inspires me even more! Cheers!
Very different and very real. I love how your photography looks so organic
[...] Terry Richardson, Found on http://blog.photoshelter.com/2012/01/rant-i-love-photography/ Tweet (function() { var s = document.createElement('SCRIPT'), s1 = [...]
[...] over here to find out [...]
LOVE IT! Thanks for posting.
<3. <3. <3. you said all there is to day. we <3 you!
[...] the TinEye HQ we love Photoshelter’s CEO photography rant, we love it so much that we want everyone to read it, share it, print it on a giant poster and [...]
I agree with the sentiment of this article – now is a great time for photography!
I’d like to make one pedantic comment if I could, though – I don’t know exactly how old Natsumi Hayashi (the levitating girl from Japan) is, but I know for sure that she is not a teenager :D
One of the best posts i ever read about why people love photography!
Finally, the photo is truly democratic!
I hate it and love it at the same time. Such a thin line. As a pro for 25 years, I get it!
Reinventing oneself is key to enduring a love/hate career in this field. One can only hope there is more love than hate, however
Well said. Even as the gap widens between technically-skilled capture and ease of capture, it is still and always about the image — no matter how “good” or by whom.
Hey allen, You have no idea how I needed something like this this morning! It means so much to me that someone understands. I’m really struggling with photography. I’m in school right now, but it cost me a lot to get here. I woke up one morning, decided to quit everything, my home, my university, my love to get to do this. I now work 30 hours a week on top of my 40 hour school week to be able to afford the best education I can in this subject. after three days of working for more then 18 hours a day and less then 4hours of sleep a night, for some, photography just isn’t worth it. But to me it is, and to know that I’m not crazy, to know that some people out there are as crazy as me for photography gives me hope that I’m not wasting my time, and that my dreams of changing the world one picture at a time may one day come true. Thank You Thak you, Thank you!
I love your style – you’re a petri dish of creativity! You remind me of the happy accidents of photography. when I first began taking photos in the 70′s I developed film to discover one negative was, I thought, defective. The man in the doorway had no head! He was smoking, turned his head towards his left shoulder into the shadow – the smoke plume from his cigarette replaced his head. wow – I then loved photography too. Les Krims was my instructor. I think that photo got me the only A in his class. Cindy Sherman who was two years behind me though got all the fame – she deserves.
I’m your new fan.
Thx Allen, I knew I loved photography a lot, and now I also know why !
Great stuff
Michel
I love it too, way mucho, cannot get enough of it. Look at it all day everyday and still wanna look at it…think, eat, breathe it. Thanks for saying it!!!!
Excellent rant! I admit, I am one of the first to complain about things like iphoneography, but this article has truly changed my perspective. Thank you!
I love photography too! Thank you for this…. Well said….
Thank you! Reading your article – while contemplating what camera to get – reminded me of the most important thing about photography (to me at least): the subject/object. Yes, the technical specificities do make a difference, but looking at that image of your friend hugging his father, I was deeply touched. I believe there’s no use having the fanciest equipment on earth, if you can’t frame a shot that says something special.
[...] to me. And that brings me to my post. I recently read a blog post, that was wonderful, called I love photography. It made me think a lot. And I love photography too. But, I think a different perhaps more selfish [...]
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