Intentional photography. I had heard this term before and it sounded good. However, I wasn't really sure what this meant on a practical level, at least for myself. A mentor once shared with me, "It's not about getting as many shots and poses and clicking the shutter as much as you possibly can. Intentional photography is clicking with impact." This statement left me wondering, what would it be like if I only had one click per pose? And that is where this idea arose.
Over the summer, my boyfriend Joseph and I were headed up to New York for just a single day. Since we were just going for the day, I knew I couldn't lug my big 'ole DSLR around the whole time. I didn't have the storage space (or the patience) for me to bring that camera with me. However, I didn't want to just resort to using our phones-- that'd be too easy. As I was thinking of ways to accommodate for my limited packing that would still let me practice with an actual camera, I was reminded of the many childhood trips, in which we used a disposable camera. It was small, light weight, it let me play around with an actual camera that was different that what I was used to, and not to mention it was cheap.
Anyone who remembers disposable cameras knows you get roughly 20-30 photos per camera. At first this had me feeling a little frantic since, thanks to modern technology, that's normally the number of photos I take per shot. The way it works is simple: you scroll to the next shutter, point your camera, and you click the shutter. You don't get your photos instantly, rather you take your camera to the store and they take about 2 weeks to develop it before you get it back. It seems like a hassle-- less photos and more time to get them back. But using this camera was far deeper than a number of photos and time.
My cheap, little disposable camera reiterated those valuable words given to me by my mentor, "Intentional photography is clicking with impact." It gave me a chance to explore that question "what would it like if I only had one click?" Being a photographer, I want the "just right" image. I will often pack out my camera or phone storage for that one, single image yet when I look back on that image, the only thing I remember is way I exhausted myself for it, not the memory or experience itself. My little disposable camera preserved this trip in such a special and unique way and it taught me such a powerful lesson with my photography: Click with impact.
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