Worry Not the Labels of Others

I am generally regarded as an intimate landscape photographer. It’s a label I push back against, even though I recognize it’s largely true. I find it restrictive and not entirely accurate, so much so that on occasion I intentionally seek larger-scale scenes when I am out with my camera. Not wide-angle grand landscapes, just what I call “medium-distance” scenes. More often than not, though, I am not as satisfied with the resulting images, and I prefer my good ol’ intimate scenes. So why do I fight it? 

Labels are a double-edged sword, satisfying the human need to categorize while pigeonholing us by reducing our identity to a single, static trait. It’s a case of caring too much about how I am perceived. Who cares what labels others may place on my photography? Purposefully seeking a particular type of image in response is tantamount to photographing with preconceptions, a mindset and approach I strongly eschew. Even worse, I am letting others influence what I photograph. 

As human beings, we all have a “built-in” way of seeing the world. As photographers, we should recognize how we see the world and let that shape our art. It doesn’t mean every image we make will adhere to our naturally inherent vision; there will always be exceptions. Ansel Adams is known for his grand landscapes of the West, in particular Yosemite. Yet any perusal of his work beyond the iconic photographs reveals beautiful and meaningful photographs on every scale, including the intimate. 

I have an eye for nature’s details, on a small scale. Not macro, just small. Sometimes a normal lens gets me close enough; often a telephoto lens is needed to isolate the small scene. Either way, the resulting image is an isolation of the larger scene. The same is true of my medium-distance images, only on a somewhat larger scale. Ultimately, the type of imagery doesn’t matter; what is important is an honest emotional response to the world, without the influence of how we may be perceived.

What’s that? Best photographer ever? I accept that label. 

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