MyersDaily

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Psalms 16:11

/\^/\

MyersDaily
Wednesday, June 10, 2026

What your camera is pointed at is NOT photography.

Marilyn Monroe is NOT photography.

Tornadoes are NOT photography.

A handsome man is NOT photography.

The painted cave of Santa Cruz Island is NOT photography.

A beautiful woman is NOT photography.

The ceremonial citadel site of Machu Picchu is NOT photography.

So many times I hear people oooh and aaah about what a wonderful photographer someone is because they are looking at WHAT that person's camera was pointed at.

But no.

Photography is the art, skill, and science of HOW you pointed your camera at something or someone--whether the picture was properly focused, properly exposed, properly composed, and so on.

You have to look not into the photograph, not at the subjects of the photograph, but at the photograph itself in order to measure the art of photography.

Even fake photographers make this same mistake, too. I hear fake photographers give their qualifications like this, "Well, I take pictures of the Miami Dolphins."

OK, so you just told me what you point your camera at.

What about your pictures, though?

Would they still be equally great photography as art if the people in them WEREN'T the Miami Dolphins, but were the neighbor boys playing football across the street? If not, then you should NOT be out there taking photos of the Miami Dolphins because you are NOT a photographer.

If someone is a real photographer, they would be talking about HOW they take their photos to tell how good they are at their work, not telling me what they point their cameras at.

Photography is the art, the science, and the skill of capturing photons and making them become art.

Photography is not the object or the person that the photons are bouncing off of.

  Sincerely,
  Joseph Myers

Love God