What do your photos make you feel?

440Hz

A philosophical one

Been thinking about this one alot lately, what do my photos make me feel. First and foremost I am a musician and am very passionate about my music. I find emotion in every note I sing, and music can make or break my day. But that is art right? Started to wonder recently what do my photos mean to me?

I am not really talking about associated memories or anything like that, but what photos do you have that you feel are very expressive. How do your photos make you feel? A photo might seem really expressive to one person and someone else might find nothing in the same shot.



I would probably pick this shot of mine. The emotions here are so mixed, some people find it peaceful and tranquil, others see only loneliness and solitude. Strange how one shot can mean so many different things.

So, what do your photos make you feel?

Dundhoone

ooh heavy thinking for such a muggy day!
But interesting.
Fajitasr posted a deadly picture of some lillies along side a gloomy pic of something urban. It made me realise that while I could respect the artist merit of his gloomy pic, and that it just made me think of crappy grey horrible days means it did its job, I would never want or be able to take a pic like that.
Also on the flip side, his lillees pic, while I really liked it, it would never mean anything to me apart from its a really good pic/ light / airy/ sunshiney- since i wasnt there and didnt take it. Other peoples photos just make me want to take good photos myself.

So , only my own pics mean something to me/evoke emotion in me, and in general I only take pics when im happy ergo all my pics cheer me up immensely!!!

So if I ever got to the stage with photos where i started talking about my photos as my "work" or my "art" it would be horribley one sided as i'd never have expressed anything negitive in them.

Im rambling on , time for some lunch!

By the way , I see lots of room for my deck chair in that pic!

elven

After considering this question, it didn't take long to confirm what I had suspected all along. I see colours, lines, shadows and light and I try to make a 2d representation of the scene that is appealing to look at. Unfortunately it rarely, if ever, stretches beyond that. I really wish I was a 'visual communicator' type of artist but I just want to make pretty pictures, and if I try anything else it comes across as incredibly contrived and cheesy. I suppose you just do what comes naturally and if that's what I'm meant to do then I'll just have to make the most of it.

It's kind of depressing to think that I'm the photographer equivalent of some random pop blandness in the back rows of the shelves in HMV. Oh dear. I'm sure I started typing this with a more positive submission in mind...!

Are people just born one way or the other? Can you try to be that kind of photographer that tells a story with an image, without it coming off as pretentious and contrived?

440Hz

Thanks for that insight guys, really appreciate it.

Elven, what you say about whether people or just born that way and perhaps do not even realise that they are communicating such emotion, I think that is really true sometimes. I am not sure how I would apply it to photography but it is certainly true for my music.

For me music is part of me and I am part of the music, it is not about me, but about the performance I give and how I make my listener feel. If the emotion of the song comes from me then it can be all the more poignant. With photography I think it is the opposite, it is all about the picture, what that image says to the viewer and how it got to be like that is irrelevant. I understand that they are two very different mediums but its hard sometimes to think that they both come from me.

I guess I just wondered how other people view taking pictures. I think if im honest i dont give it much/any thought, I just do it and Im surprised after how people find emotional value in my images. Madness

Fajitas!

For me, I take photo's of what I find visually appealing. I never really think "This is deep, man" when shooting, if I see something I like, I'll take it. At the end of the day my photos make me feel happy, there's not much better than coming home and loading up your shots, or getting your paper pouch of freshly dev'd photos, and finding a few stunning photos!

As for the emotional aspect, I think it's very hard to find new emotions in photos I've taken. I'm tired and could ramble on...bleh!

As for Dundhoons comments, I enjoyed the fact you actually felt something from the picture! It really was one of those days...And I really wanted that to come accross. The second picture was just as you said, picturesque, airy, good light and sunshine!