What Photography Means To Me

In our modern world, we’re bombarded with what seems like an endless supply of content, all vying for our attention. We so often switch from one stream to another and then back again. Refreshing Facebook to see what our friends have been up to, switching over to Twitter to keep up with the latest happenings, before checking Instagram to view one amazing picture after the other.

And I’m no exception. So often I find myself mindlessly flipping between apps on my phone. Checking the latest updates to ensure that I don’t miss out. I think it’s a part of our connected 21st century culture. We feel the need to always be in the know. To be aware of the freshest developments; to laugh at the latest in-jokes.

And that’s why my photography is so important to me. It offers me an escape from the constant buzz that encircles us.

I’m in a different state of mind when I step out the front door, my camera packed away within the brown canvas bag on my back. As I journey to my destination, my camera encourages me to appreciate the scenes around me, framing up the next photo waiting to be taken.

And it’s not just limited to nature. Since moving to the city, I’ve keenly ventured out in the early hours before the city awakes and stayed out into the night as the city slumbers. Photography inspires me to think and view the world around me from a new lens, pun intended.

I’m not saying that we all need to move to a cabin in the woods to escape modern life. Being connected to anything and everything is extremely empowering. We essentially have access to the entirety of humanity’s knowledge through a device that fits in our pocket.

But being constantly connected can be overwhelming as we become flooded with information. And I believe that, even if only briefly, we need to make a conscious effort to escape from time to time.

Whether you find this through reading, walking or baking chocolate chip cookies, I encourage you to do the same. For me, it’s photography.

It’s photography that allows my mind the chance to breathe before submerging in the stream yet again.