Chasing light

Weather: 28C, mostly sunny, windy in the afternoon

Light, timing, composition – these are the three elements that make a photograph. Story, character, narrative are the three pillars for writing. These are however only the surface level, the superficial, requires but not sufficient.

A good photograph tells a story, it has soul, emotion. Same for a good story, it has something deeper. There’s the craft of writing and photography but these are only the medium. The real thing, what really matters is deeper, more human. It’s connection, vulnerability both of the subject and the artist. A truly great work is about that human connection, the medium is secondary; good execution is required but insufficient if the depth, the emotion, the pain, the lanour is not there.

Looking at great works it’s easy to fixate on the craft, that van be learned, stolen, copied and made one’s own from just looking. What van’t be taught is the human part. That is the only thing that really matters and that is the arena of real work, real art.

That, the connecting and emotional investment, is the only part that has no shortcuts, no fast track. You have to put in the work, open yourself up to pain and embarrassment, and let it take the time it takes. Nothing worth doing is easy, it can’t be planned or orchestrated. It can’t even be practiced, like a skill, because it isn’t a skill. It’s who you are and it can only be lived.