What are your goals in photography?

Christopher Osborne at The Silvergrain Classics Magazine asked me that question. And I didn't have an answer - until now.

[stuartflipflops]

Another thought provoking video. Hey, what if all share a simple but common goal for the channel in 2022, e.g. study renaissance painters. Listening a while back to a lecture on this subject for photographers. Takeaways: - Leonardo: Golden Ratio, Diffused Lighting
- Michelangelo: Tonal Values (HDR), Forms
- Raphael: Perspectives, Visual Tension
- Rembrandt: Lighting of Portraits
- Caravaggio: Low Key, Visual Dynamics
- Claude Lorraine: Tonal Separation, Perspective

[edwardgrabczewski]

Your SWOT analysis results chime with mine. We even have similar backgrounds! I retired to look after my kids at age 58 and I became 65 a few weeks ago. Unlike you, I did so some B&W photography and developing in my earlier years and around 2000 became interested in cinematography (using film - digital was inferior to film at that time). I find myself coming back to the analogue word and showing my young children (aged 9, 11 and 13) what the world was like back then. They now play the acoustic piano, take film photos, type on a manual typewriter, play vinyl records and the Hammond organ. Soon they'll be watching me develop colour film and print using a 4x5 enlarger. My own attitude to life nowadays is to "seize the day!" I sometimes think to myself - whenever I feel I'm too old to do something - that if I were to live until I was 95 then I'd have spent 30 years thinking I was too old to do it! 😅

[jamesrice]

As I’ve watched photographers, particularly young photographers, utilize social media effectively to create a name for themselves, I’ve also seen their efforts box them in to one specific style or genre. And then I see that they’ve built walls around themselves they cannot escape. The freedom as a photographer to do whatever one wants, whenever one wants, without any fear of repercussions, is, I think, the greatest creative juice on the planet. But I might be crazy. But happy. And that’s okay.

[jimjanus]

We live in a goal oriented world. There must be purpose to everything we do.
Be efficient, be profitable. I started to think about why I shoot and started to list goals. Be technically correct, Inspire others to become photographers, have an exhibition in an art gallery, get published in a magazine or a web site to exhibit my work. The more I thought about these goals, I came to realize that I was looking for validation from others . Then I realized why I do this, I enjoy creating photographs. So here is my list.
My goal in photography is to have fun.

[aleksanderbrodowicz]

Dear Ari, I have been thinking about your question and my own struggles with it since I first saw it. I want to respond to it since I feel it is as relevant to me as it is to you. I apologize in advance for the form of my comment which will be rather monologue like, take it as you please, I will not spare myself or you though. So without further ado.... I watch youtube when I am working and cannot take pictures, the next best thing to photographing is listening to inspiring people like you and Dan Milnor. (now is my free time and I'm drinkin beer) You are the self-standing-experimental-photographer, he the I find myself between the two of you. I have no formal training apart of advice from retired professionals but neither am I happy to remain for-myself and want to make work that matters. You are absolutely great at exploring the possibilites and you are lucky to have the means to try all of it in a consistent manner. These are all really helpful lessons for all of us who are not in that position financially, time-wise or otherwise and I thank you a thousand times for all you have done. I try similar things to my own extent, but what I do find at the end of the process is: 'and now what?'. I can end up with great experiments but.. 'so what?'. It has been a dreadful conclusion of my photographic endeavors, the pictures are taken, the negatives are good, the prints have been successful, and.. 'now what?' . I show it here and there and no reaction apart from 'beautiful' or 'good'. Not what I'm interested in. It feels for me as if the essence has evaporated, or not been conveyed. I realize more and more that the way one shows one's work is the real work, at least the 50%. but that is only because I feel I want to say something... do you? It is a question. One helpful thing I got from Dan's videos was the distinction between photography. Journalism is straight fact, the sort of thing that goes into a newspaper, the documentary thing is the sort of thing that might be awarded an Oscar Baranack award, and fine art- is a print on the wall, all on its own. There are shades between but I think it is wise to choose where one wants to be. Like you I find it hard to choose between goals, and I hate hate hate, pre setting an idea before going out with the camera and following a scheme. But that's not the only way to set goals. My next step before buying any lens, camera or god knows what is to get a good shelf, a couple of binders, a lot of Adofiles (transparent archival negative sleeves) and hundreds of Fomaspeed papers to archive all I've got and to take a good look at it. and think long and hard on what it all means. what it can mean, maybe: what it should mean. That reflection informs one's work as it goes, it is intuition not intellect (if a rigid distinction is desired, probably just a combination of the two in reality). I have recently seen a retrospective on Lee Friedlander, He uses the same Hasselblad you have for a recent project, but I found his 'little screens' so mind-blowingly ingenious that I couldn't pick myself off of the ground. Honestly, it is the consistency that I think you and I both miss (and me to a greater extent). Dan Milner is right, one project, one camera, one lens. Leave it at that. Or not, there are other ways, but if consistency is a problem that's probably a good challenge to take up. I choose to go with a 50 and a 24 35mm into the city and a 9x12 for the forest, that is it. And give it time time time. My favorite photo book is Ed van der Elsken 'Amsterdam!' photos taken over 30 years with different cameras and lenses, I do hope to make such a book about Berlin one day, but it takes a lot of consistent behavior in between to do that. Anyway, this is what I wanted to say, I hope it is in some way helpful to you, my goal is a photo book that says how I see the world through my complicated and twisted life-history. I do hope you find yours, since you have great potential and resources at your hand. One more thing I want to say is this: when you say 'I want my work to have a recognizable style' - I can tell you that a couple of months ago I was scrolling through instagram and I saw an Ilford feature, I thought in a split second 'this is Ari's picture and indeed it was, I could tell from the 1000 images that this one must have been taken by you. You have your style! As my philosophy professor used to say: Keep up the good work, excuses for the beer in my system! Peace and Love, Olek

[richardcannon]

Im in the same place as you. Setting goals and wanting to do some books. I think a lot of us suffer from imposter syndrome so these goals may be a way to move forward.
I shoot street portraits a lot. See someone interest in and ask can i take your portrait. Send them a scan. Ive had great response. Especially if you have an interesting camera. Rollei is a classic people love having their photo taken with it.
And Art is my passion. I started photography because i diddnt have time to paint. I love the surrealists.

[jmsh]

Oftentimes I dislike that algorithms run much of our online experience… but sometimes they come through and suggest a refreshing and honest creator … your self reflections have resonated a lot with my own challenges with photography and I just wanted to say thanks for sharing what you do and your thoughts on photography as art and self expression.

[buyaport]

Totally agree. Note: This talk about "goals" is so 1990s neoliberal thinking, this "self-improvement" thing (like: you are not good enough, you need a goal). My mother was a professional photographer, and her "goal" was to make a living (ended up taking x-rays in a hospital). I take pictures to enjoy myself, just for a change from sitting in front of a computer. I don't need a goal. Another note: If you have got a talent for something it is easy to do, you don't need to think about it - just let it flow. If you struggle, you may have got no talent, but you still can enjoy it. And this is ok, do not set yourself a goal, which gets you frustrated because you did not make it!

[paullacotta]

I recommend you also study early and mid 20th century artists, like Picasso, Braque, Edward Hopper, Richard Diebenkorn, Wayne Thiebaud, etc. They had a sense of design organization in their works that is very applicable to making well designed photos.

[aliidrissi-sbai]

It is with great pleasure that I watch your videos. I must congratulate you .It all appeals to me and I feel I am on the same wave length..I started photography as a medical student and after more than thirty years of leading a structured life filled with goals , I now feel liberated after my retirement and restarted photography as an amateur and please myself as I go along. I have no formal education in fine arts or photography never the less one can achieve a lot by paying attention to details and be good observer. Funny that you mention fine arts and paintings something I find quite fascinating.There you are In the end Henri Cartier Bresson drifted away from photography into fine arts . fascinating. thank you .

[danncorbit]

My goals are far less advanced. I am far behind an artist such as yourself, so I need to set reachable goals. Learn to use the equipment to its strengths. Learn what techniques I enjoy the most. I want to grow in landscape photography, which will wait for the covid mess to clear.

More so, I want to improve in one area at a time. I want to study what I like so that I can understand what I like about it. Most of all I want to have fun. I have no desire to turn it into work, which would drain all the fun out of it in a hurry. I am not particularly interested in street photography or sports photography, but the kind of thing where you can take your time and do it right is very appealing (landscape, portrait, macro). So I guess I know where I want to go, and I will take small, deliberate steps to get there. Maybe I won't ever arrive because an eye like Ansel Adams or Eberhard Grossgasteiger may simply be a god given gift. But I am quite sure that I can improve a lot and have fun doing it. And if the journey is as important as the destination, maybe it won't matter if I don't ever get really good at it.

[steve]

Ari, I am glad I ran across your videos. I appreciate your maturity.

[robhosailor]

Ari! Thank you for the video!

I watched this video twice so I could answer something "smart". I returned to film photography (and conscious photography in general) by unintentionally enlarging my tiny collection of old cameras. It was necessary to check if and how they worked. Like a fish I swallowed the hook. While checking my new old cameras, I started to play with photography as it used to be, when it was something natural for me. Should I now set goals, non-goals and do a SWOT analysis? Maybe?

1. In retirement, the goal of life is to live another day happily. Probably the same with my photography: take a nice photo. This photo will be a document of my view of the world through the eyes of the camera. Document of the moment. A document.
2. Fix it in a material form, ie in the form of a paper photo, a print made by yourself in a darkroom. Easy! I need to recreate my darkroom. It's already decided, despite a nasty allergy to chemicals that made me run away from photography on classic photosensitive materials.
3. Give these photos your own imprint. It seems simple and difficult at the same time. Basically every photo is the result of the photographer's view of the world, but only some of them have that unique character, when you can say for sure, this is my unique view of the world. But I'm not at all sure if it can be done by force. In my opinion, either it will appear spontaneously or no effort will bring a result, so I guess it will not be my goal, but rather a reward for persistence.

So what if I have an artistic education? It doesn't have to help at all. They say that "nobility obliges" and the awareness of this inhibits you in unhampered action, triggers excessive self-criticism: "you are a certified artist, what others will say, against yours, God pity, scribble" ... But I am retired and I can take it now don't worry!

Therefore, I will skip SWOT. ;-)

Regards from Poland

[davidwoods]

Ari, this video really helped clarify my own strengths and weaknesses and to set my own goals, which happen to be similar to yours. Thank you very much.

[trevorlowe]

Ari, really look forward to your postings each week. You are such a great communicator. We must be a bit strange as we prefer the photography chats more than gear talks? Never really stopped to think about photography goals in this way before - thanks so much. And maybe not having any formal art training is a strength, not a weakness?? Keep up the great work.

[kevinrichardschafer]

Thank you. This is exactly what I need to hear right now.

[gregholms]

Exactly the inspiring words I needed to hear right now. Thank you Ari.

[john_murch]

I appreciate this episode on Photography Goals. My wife is always saying to me: "What is the end goal? Write it down!" In fact, I used to do SWOT analysis in my previous career, so there's that. Anyway, you bring up some great points and I really need to focus on some photography goals, at least for 2022. Now motivating myself to not just take some nice shots here and there. Projects and themes are a good start. Cheers Ari!

[sismith]

You shouldn't ever worry about achieving perfection, all artists strive for it, but no artist would ever say they can achieve perfection... maybe that's the only take away from art training is that its learning to be critical of your own work, realising we learn from mistakes, that art should be about enjoying the process ... and if your work isn't perfect... that's OK, we all see things we could improve on in our own work. I think the process of trying is lifelong but that's the fun. The journey itself is what you should love, it gives you a lifetime of experimentation, creative opportunities and true self expression.

[peterr.c.k.]

I isually watch your videos several times - there's so much to learn. From this first viewing I pick 2 things: A) People: I am about your age and there are hardly any people on my pics. Gotta learn this! B) Painters: They are our predecessors. We are the children. Thx, Ari!