Blog Post #19

Can you think of anything that:

1) should not be photographed? Why?

I don’t like applying big, blanket statements of things that should “always” be done or things that should “never” be done, because I feel like the specifics of a situation can vastly change the acceptability of certain actions. The more situations I try to think of where taking photographs would not be alright, the more variations on the situations where it becomes alright also come into my mind. However, one thing remains a constant deterrent in my mind: If someone is somewhere private or engaged in some sort of extremely private or emotional (such as at a funeral maybe) state of being and they ask you not to photograph them, I really don’t think you should. Invading people’s privacy against their wishes or pushing them when they are down seems not only dishonest, but also strikes me as just plain wrong, and I don’t think these are things I would want to do to someone.


2) cannot be photographed? Why?

Things that take place in the imagination simply cannot be photographed. They are not something concrete that can be seen through a camera, or even something that actually exists in the physical world. Additionally, things that are completely fictional (such as gryphons, for example), things that happened in the past or might happen in the future also cannot be photographed in the present because they don’t exist in the physical world at that point in time. This may seem pretty obvious, however, these types of things actually can be created or expressed through photography, just as they can be through drawing, painting, sculpting or any other artistic form of expression.



3) you do not want to photograph? Why?

It might sound general and shallow, but I have never had any interest in sports. I can appreciate an exceptional sports photo, but I really don’t care about sports in general. Sure, certain sports might catch my interest or be fun to photograph, but in general, I really have no desire to photograph sporting events. I’ve done it before and they were good learning experiences, but it’s just not my thing. I usually find ways to make them fun, or completely disconnect the activities taking place from the idea “sports” and pay attention to the forms, shapes, actions and colors happening. And I can think of plenty of exceptions to this aversion, but in general, I’d prefer not to have to deal with sports photography and wouldn’t expect myself to focus on any sporting events if left completely to my own devices.