The Whys

I think asking myself why I enjoy photography, and why I make images, is an important question to sit with. Being honest about our “whys” lets us make images in a truer, more personally authentic way. It could be recognition, likes, validation, or a whole mixture of these. None are right or wrong, but an honest answer is where more personal work begins.

For me, it’s very much about being out in the elements, feeling and hearing nature, and the challenge of being creative. It’s the experience itself, scratching that creative itch. It gives me a sense of purpose and meaning, two things I think we all need. Of course, I’d be lying if I said there was no interest in recognition or likes, but these days that sits well down the list of reasons why.

There’s a brook I return to often, one I used to walk with my dad as a kid, at weekends. This photograph I made there isn’t a great one. It doesn’t need to be. It’s not really about the image. Standing there, listening to the water, I’m back beside him for a moment, a simpler time. I can almost hear the laughter of families enjoying the day, and still feel the cold water around my feet as we paddled in the brook. Distant memories replayed like an old cinema reel.

Perhaps that's what photography has always done for me. It connects the past with the present. The landscape becomes more than scenery, it becomes memory. A camera is simply a way of bringing the two together.

My own photography comes from an internal space, shaped by the thoughts, emotions, and life I’ve lived. The good and the bad, the highs and the lows. It’s why I’m drawn to stillness in the landscape, a quiet space to reflect, away from the noise. I've gradually stopped worrying about making work that fits neatly into what performs well online. These days I’d rather let whatever I’ve been through show up honestly, in the quiet, than smooth it into something more conventional.

So when I raise the camera, I’m not really chasing a photograph. I’m chasing that feeling of being present in a place that matters, and if an image comes from it, that’s the bonus, not the point. That’s the honest answer to my “why”. Not likes or recognition, but a quiet way of holding on to the places that shaped me.

Is there a place that takes you back, even for a moment?

As ever thank you for reading and being a subscriber. I appreciate your support and interest in my work!

Matt