Is Photography Art?

I have been listening to a lot of YouTube videos over the last week or so. It is often my go-to, as there is an amazing range of creative thinking and education, all in one place. This being said, I feel as though I am coming to an end with my binge watching of photography channels. They all seem to be the same - focussing on technical mastery of how to get sharp images, composition rules and new gear reviews. At this point, I feel I need to break away from this and turn to other sources of inspiration as it is all getting a little too repetitive. Photography channels as an inspiration for my own photography are no longer providing me what I need. Instead, I am pivoting towards more diverse inputs in a search to move deeper into my journey.

Inspiration for any act of creativity can come from a variety of sources - I love watching movies, listening to music, travelling, art, architecture… all of my life experiences are inputs into my creative output of photography. For me, the art of photography comes directly from my subconscious - storing up experiences from a variety of sources over many years - all leading me to be able to recognise that something visually captivating is in front of me and allowing ideas to flow at any given moment. Photography, for me, is a process of noticing, and capturing the world around me in a very specific way - one based on the totality of my experiences and influences. But is this art? I think it has to be - there is no rule book for creativity, saying what medium is required… The distinction for me, clearly comes down to intention. If I go out with the intention of creating an image, or hunting down new scenes to capture, there is a clear creative intent that crosses the line from snapshot to art. Intention is everything - I spend hours every week reviewing my own work, analysing how it could be improved upon and asking myself how I could be better… this is the cornerstone of art - a desire to create something… to elevate and maximise the creative act to be the best version of itself that it can be. It is about not being satisfied with mediocre outcomes and striving for more. It doesn’t always work, but thats another story.

The inspiration that I am currently seeking is not photography, it is art in it’s more broad sense - understanding the history of art, including the the evolution and reactionary developments of art is fascinating. There is not always a direct link in terms of photography composition but the sentiment of what people were/are thinking and trying to achieve in their work is key. While it isn’t essential for me to understand the links between 17th century landscape paintings and modern landscape photography, a broad understanding of a variety of art is really helping to focus my mind on what I am trying to achieve - increasing the focus on my intentions. Education and a deeper understanding of artistic movements and styles is proving to be a positive disruption to the mundane current trend of video reels and makes me think beyond the advice I am always fed on what is essentially, how to be the same as eery one else.

I am choosing not to follow 15 seconds and scrolling - I am choosing art.