I once had a client on a photography oriented trip who had one, and only one interest: photographing large mammals. He had no interest in birds, not flowers, not even the spectacular mountain landscape that surrounded our camp on a glacial-blue river. He didn’t even like to hike, so much so that even refused to follow me as I scrambled up the slopes of the mountains to chase down photos of the mountain sheep high on the ridges. I felt bad for him, there was no question he was on the wrong trip.
As I think back on that, I realize that is the danger of too narrow a focus. An experience that could be wonderful, SHOULD be wonderful, can be turned to ash because of an inability, or unwillingness to see. In photography, and maybe in all things, its vital to push out beyond your boundaries. Shoot images that suck, that you hate. If you can’t stand making images of people, than by god, go make images of people. Don’t understand avant-garde or fine-art photography? Study it, emulate it.
Challenge breeds creativity, and creativity… well, without that, our art is screwed.
Rant over.
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