so what do you do?

the first thing that people ask me when i meet them is "what do you do?"

i don't do anything.  at least nothing extraordinary.  everything i do is ordinary, normal, somewhere in the range of average.  i don't really mind the idea that i fit into that particular grouping, but i do like to add the note that i am average in a lot of things.  never mind that though.  standards for excellence are arbitrary; what i find ordinary or "beige" might be considered poorly done or truly excellent by someone else.  it all depends on our individual experiences. 

but back to the question.  usually, i answer that i do nothing.  but since i travel with a camera attached to my hip, i'll mention that i like to take photos, that one might refer to me as a photographer.  so the next question is "what kind of photographer are you?"

now that is the question i have a hard time answering.  i feel like this art form is continually evolving.  what used to count as exceptional is achievable by just about anyone with the right kind of software.  i strive to capture things as i see them, how my eye perceives the scene, and if there is any adjustment made, it is to saturation because my camera can't quite capture colors the way my eye sees them.  but i've seen photos taken by iphones and various point-and-shoots that rival professional photos in clarity and composition, in the power to evoke emotion.

so i've kinda hit a stall.  while i continue to sharpen my technical skill with a camera and flash, i feel like i don't have a particular niche.  i have a few basic categories of photos, but i am still working on moving away from taking snapshots (which is something i do with my phone) to creating shots.  so much is done from behind the lens, from getting the right settings to moving my feet to get the desired composition.  that's appropriate in the field when taking landscapes, but not so in smaller settings with a model. 

anyway, the point i wanted to make is that nothing else should matter when it's just me and a camera.  the urge to collect photos for geographical purposes, for proof that i was somewhere has to take a back seat.  and trying to compare my efforts to those of photographers that i admire is foolish.  it's my camera, my eye, my choice of subject and composition.  the only person i have to please is myself, and that happens when i trip the shutter and i know before even seeing the preview that i caught something cool.