I often wonder why i picked up a camera?
I have this love/hate relationship with photography.
I’m terrified leading up to a shoot. Doesn’t matter if it’s a football game, a headshot, a portrait of a kid. Doesn’t matter. I’m terrified.
What if I screw it up? What if I miss the shot? What if they don’t like what I did?
Then, I get there. The camera hits my hands and it just clicks (no pun intended).
Everything feels right. Like I’m supposed to be there.
Feels like I shouldn’t be nervous, I’ve been doing this a long time.
I have 30-40 years of archives of images. Hundreds of thousand images. Notebooks full of negatives. Hard drives full of digital files. Old darkroom photo paper boxes full of prints. There are a lot of pictures.
Memories everywhere. I always believed, just get the picture. You can look at it later. Print it later.
Later is here.
Lots of memories to look back on. What a wonderful way to spend the next 59 years of my life.
That said, I am looking forward to creating new work. Experiment with different styles. Share what I have with others. Teach a new generation of photographers.
Create memories for others to enjoy. Stop being so selfish.
So I stand before you offering my services?
I have never been the super artsy photographer. I lean much more journalistic in my approach, though I’m also weirdly good at the painterly (read classic) style of portraiture.
I’m not going to try to sell you on anything I wouldn’t do for myself. I also don’t care if you buy a wall portrait, or an 8×10 for your shelf. To me it’s all the same.
It’s the image that matters. Nothing else.
Don’t get me wrong. I will sell you stuff, but if all you want is stuff for Facebook, I get it, don’t understand it, but I get it. It’s gonna cost you the same though. May as well get a print for your wall, yes? Or an album full of portraits to look back on.
Prints are better. Much better. Buy the print.
Now excuse me as I go plan my next photo shoot.
Imagination has no limits. -Johnny
