“Photographers are not artists!” Have you ever heard that? As a fellow photographer, do you ever feel that you are not considered an artist in the eyes of some people? For myself, I have experienced this kind of attitude towards our craft, our passion, our artwork.
I know that sometimes we go into a gallery, and they only display paintings and charge thousands of dollars for them. Why? Is it because their tool of choice is a paint brush versus a camera? Do you ever hear the words “That is a great picture; you must have some nice camera”? But we don’t hear “Beautiful painting; that is one heck of a paint brush you have.” Another good one is, “You must have been in the right place at the right time.” Grrrr No! We plan the location, the timing and the equipment required and then use our own creative juices to create our vision through editing. No, we don’t photoshop it!
Those who say those things also don’t consider the years of practice required to create an image that started with a feeling, emotion or idea. Isn’t that what art is all about? The technical meaning of art is a visual object or experience consciously created through an expression of skill or imagination. Therefore, it does not matter if you use a pencil, paint brush or camera as long as it is an expression from the creator.
If I draw an iceberg, does that make me more of an artist because of the tool I use? Here is my original drawing of an iceberg, which is now ready for auction starting at $10,000. I am not criticizing painters, because I truly value their work. But I think photographers are artists too and should be respected as such.
A camera is a tool that can be used for taking snapshots or for record keeping, which is no different than a sketch artist using a pencil to produce a grocery list. It all comes down to the individual artist and their expressive imagination.
Of course, not all people feel this way, but I do see from time to time that a paint brush is considered of more value than a camera. Even though the camera costs more.
About the Author – Michael Winsor
Michael is an international award-winning professional photographer and owner of Newfoundland Photo Tours on the east coast of Canada. He has been exploring and photographing our natural world for year.
Michael has worked with PHOTONews for a cover story on Newfoundland & Labrador. He has also worked Canadian Geographic on several stories and other magazines such as Macleans, etc.… He is an ambassador for Newfoundland and Labrador through working with Newfoundland Tourism and conducting presentations by showcasing the province through my images.
Michael has won many awards including “Wildlife Photographer of the Year” and “Best Landscape of the Year” with Canadian Geographic. He has been fortunate to have a best-selling photography book that is on its second print as well. Perhaps the best thing that my work has been recognized for is having one of my images printed on an international Canadian postage stamp that was printed over 16 million times. Most recently, He has just been selected to represent Team Canada at the World Photographic Cup in Singapore.
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