I’m embarrassed to admit this: as much as I love reading and photography, I’d never considered combining my passions and reading a book about photography. Duh! Fortunately, thanks to a recommendation, this light bulb finally went off!
A few days before I was scheduled to participate in a private photography workshop, the instructor, Mark VanDyke, a professional landscape photographer and an avid reader, sent me a list of four photography books he’d found valuable.
Ever the student, I picked Guy Tal’s book, More than a Rock: Essays on Art, Creativity, Photography, Nature, and Life, off the list and started studying up, in the hopes of getting more out of my workshop. In this case, beginning the “textbook” before class proved to be a good decision.
Tal’s philosophical musings about communicating through photography were thought-provoking and inspired me to think differently about the images I take. I connected with his philosophy that inspiration and meaning are abundant in the natural world. Finding and showcasing the beauty in my everyday surroundings fuels me as a photographer.
“There is beauty wherever you are, and there’s always opportunity to create, to engage with life and with the world, to be inspired and fascinated.”
Guy Tal, More than a Rock
Tal’s essays also helped reinforce a concept I began to internalize during my one-on-one workshop: being more intentional about the images I take. Tal cautions developing photographers like me to “…be mindful of the fact that it’s very limiting if the only thing you know how to express in a photograph is, ‘here’s something pretty’.” As the title of his book suggests, finding a way to photograph a rock so it is more than a rock is what distinguishes excellent photographers from mediocre ones.
This advice echoed the coaching I received in the field from VanDyke, who taught me that I needed to think more deeply about what I wanted to communicate through the images I captured. “Think of your camera like a pen,” VanDyke guided, challenging me to think of the camera as a storytelling tool, with me as the author.
The most valuable takeaway the book — and my workshop experience — gave me was permission to think of myself as an artist. Before reading the book and participating in the private workshop, an artist was a title I didn’t feel I could claim. It seemed reserved for those who went to art school or who, like VanDyke and Tal, earn a living from their creative pursuits. Both photographers helped me dispel those notions, convincingly arguing that anyone who passionately pursues a creative endeavor and factors it into how they interact with the world can — and should — proudly claim the artist title.
Beautifu!
I really appreciated the opportunity to run the landscape with you! I’ve always been intimidated by the concept of “being an artist.” On the other hand, I do believe that everything in life can be done artfully. Why that distinction matters to me, I haven’t figured out yet! But, being intentional about how I spend my time and what I find beautiful and worthy of attention feels like living artfully, for me. In that way, the camera is one of the few tech tools that actually allows me–encourages me even–to connect more fully and deeply with the things I love. I look forward to watching your growth as an artist, photographer and writer :-).