Daniel Milnor recently posted a great entry on his website entitled Response to a Young Photographer. I have been a long time fan of his earlier Smogranch website and the latest incarnation, Shifter. Really wonderful stuff! Milnor is a great photographer and writer. There is an unvarnished truth to his photographs and words. He also posts some really terrific and entertaining videos.
In this post Milnor said: “I’ve never once been stuck without ideas or directions to follows. Never once. If I had to provide ONE concept that makes this a reality it would be the concept of curiosity. If you have it you will never run dry. I love the elderly and feel that how we treat our elders is one of the most grievous ills of our society. The elderly who thrive into those seemingly untouchable years are those who never lose their curiosity.”
Think about this for a moment. Curiosity is essential for both your photography a long and productive life. And now more then ever! We’re in the midst of the second wave of the virus and even with the vaccine coming our activity will be highly restricted. So what are you going to do … veg out, mope around, watch way too much Netflix, or try to be productive in some way?
Letting your curiosity run rampant will fuel you with new ideas, if you’re open to it and let it happen! Milnor talks about what a fan he is of going to the library to get juiced up. Okay, so we can’t do that right now, or if we can it’s pretty restricted. How about the Internet? Beyond the bad stuff the Internet does and is responsible for, it’s the greatest invention ever. One moment I can learn as much as I like about a great photographer I never heard of before and the next I’m touring the Sistine Chapel. I walk about six miles a day, first by myself and then with Sparky. No phone, no music. You can’t imagine how many great ideas I get that I want to explore for my photography and life. As soon as I get home I write it all down in my journal so I won’t forget. I may not be able to act on what I have written for a while, but I’ve captured my thoughts and now I can come back to them when the time is right.
Nothing is sacred and everything (within reason) is in bounds. My curiosity has enabled me to start thinking about what I can learn about what fuels other photographer’s drive to create? What motivates them, what is it they are passionate about, what are the stories behind their work? Then what are others doing during Covid to “keep their heads in the game”? This curiosity had led me to start working with my Monalog Collective colleagues to see if we can launch some virtual events for photographers to explore these areas. More to come on that, but suffice to say I’m very excited because I am curious and I know there is so much I will learn, which in turn will fuel my photography even more! Damn, I could go on and on, but you get the picture.
Milnor is 100% right about curiosity and meaningful photography. I am quite certain all the great ones had it. They had a rage to photograph, I’m sure in great part because they were curious about everything around them. Take Gary Winogrand. One of my favorite Winogrand quotes, and perhaps one of my favorite quotes of all time is all about curiosity … “ I photograph to find out what something will look like photographed.” And here’s another great one from Winogrand. “Sometimes I feel like . . . the world is a place I bought a ticket to. It’s a big show for me, as if it wouldn’t happen if I wasn’t there with a camera.”
So there you have it. Let yourself be curious. Open your heart and your mind’s eye. Be a kid … go ahead! It will make you happy, because of the work you will create and the life you will live.
Stay safe,
Michael