Why I take photos.

Every once and a while I get asked the question, "Why do you take photos?" (in a why are you here tone). 

Let me answer that question. 

I take photos because of a few reasons. Let me touch upon a few of the many reasons I have invested much of my time taking photos for others for the past four months. 

The following is a response to a personal statement prompt asking about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to me. It also asks, what about this quality or accomplishment makes me proud, and how does it relate to the person I am. 

I have been involved in sports my whole life and also have a great appreciation for photography.  As an athlete, I appreciate photos that capture me in my element, whether it's cycling, running, wrestling or any other sport.  Having recently purchased a quality camera, I decided to combine my love of  sports with photography by taking photos of local sporting events.  

Since starting with my sister's high school cross country team, I have branched out to every high school and college sport, as well as community events.  Wanting to reach out to the public as much as possible, I created business cards that directed them to my profile on Flickr (a public photo sharing site) as well as a Facebook page where I can interact with the community.  As a result of utilizing the social networking, my profile views increased drastically.  I am proud of having accomplished such feats in such a small amount of time, receiving over 131,000 views within the initial three months of operation. (Now up to 186,813 views to date).

This contribution to the community relates to me since I have been very well organized, and have worked efficiently by getting the photos available to the public.  I have received numerous requests for me to photograph even more sporting events, as well as weddings and senior portraits.  My work has been at the highest level, which expresses the fact that I do everything to it's fullest. This has been the end result of putting countless hours into the organization and visual qualities of my photos, as well as committing to the wide extent of sporting events by going to a different event almost every day of the week.  

I enjoy taking the photos because it allows me to meet new people in the community, while enjoying being involved in the activities first hand.  I can witness each and every event close up, giving me unique opportunities to see life from new angles.  To many, it would be a dream to watch the action from under the hoop, or stand on the field among the coaches and players rather than watching from the distant bleachers.  Also, with a camera I can step past social barriers and put myself into new situations that I would have never felt comfortable doing before.  Photography has given me a lot of confidence when working with people in general.

My photography reflects who I am as a person, and I appreciate the community support and how it has recognized my talent and hard work through photography.  Many who know me personally know that I do everything to the max, always finding a way to specialize it and make it better than everyone else's.  I feel that I have an entrepreneurial spirit within me that always searches for new opportunities to try new things and make a name for myself, as well as benefiting others.  My photos speak for themselves, showing the detail and creativity, as well as dedication that I put into this passion. 

That is why I take photos.  I do it for the those athletes out on the court who are working hard, so that they have the chance to say to their friends and family "Hey look, that's me. I am working hard, I have accomplished something in my athletic career.  This is proof! Let me hang this photo on my wall as a reminder of what I've accomplished and allow that to inspire me to go on to do greater things."  I get a great feeling when I've taken that picture perfect photo that captures the moment.  It could be compared to hunting, that the photo is proof that one has the talent to perform such a task at such a skilled level. (I'm sure hunting is hard!, and so is getting that photo at the exact right moment so it captures all the memories, all the emotions that took place).  Sure I'd like to make a buck here and there, I could always use money, but that's not the reason I show up day in and day out to sporting events to take photos.  I am glad to have received positive feedback about my photo efforts, and I plan to continue taking photos until I am worn out or have found a new interest in something aside from photography. (That's unlikely, because to me photos are a way of expressing life. I can't stop doing that!)