What is photography? One place to look for the answer is a dictionary. The online version of the Oxford English Dictionary describes photography as ‘the art or practice of taking and processing photographs’. Mirriam-Webster is a little more specific: ‘the art or process of producing images by the action of radiant energy and especially light on a sensitive surface (as film or an optical sensor)’. But what these rather dry definitions lack is an insight into the art and soul of photography. To make things a little more personal, I asked myself what photography means to me.hotography also helps me meet new people. Some of those people are online contacts, some are people that I’ve met in real life. Some of these are people interested in photography, some are models who have gone on to become friends. This has helped make my life more interesting, and I’m grateful for that.On a deeper level photography helps me see the beauty in the world. I feel awe when I see other people’s beautiful photos. It creates an awareness of just how big, diverse and beautiful our planet is. It inspires me by giving me ideas about places I’d like to travel to in the future, or photos that I’d like to take for myself. Someone suggested to me once that photographers, as artists, are privileged to be able to see and record some of the beauty in the world. It’s an interesting idea, and while some photographers do concentrate on photographing the ugly side of life, for those of us that search out the beauty in the world it’s an enriching experience.
