52 Weeks — #40
Finding joy and fulfillment in chronicling the things I see
I like to say I’m not creative, I’m a chronicler.
This realization goes way back and is the combination of self-esteem issues and a chronic lack of mechanical skills dating back to childhood. As the son of a visual artist, I did not understand how someone literally could create pieces without reference.
I was an early acolyte of movies, music, and theater, becoming a lifelong admirer of creatives (there’s that word again) who could tell stories in different mediums seemingly without effort. I wished, fervently so, that I had that type of “pure imagination.”
So I became a storyteller of a different sort, one who used observation and the words of others to chronicle aspects of daily life. In that format, writing came naturally. I could write about things I actually “see.”
In 2009, two and a half decades into a career as a writer and editor, I started honing my photography skills. Capturing people, emotion, and moments in time through the skills I had acquired as a journalist felt simple, but the lack of mechanical skills and technical aptitude were — and in some cases remain — a barrier.
So I decided not to focus on people, but places and things on which I could refine and build my compositional eye. Soon I found I was happy chronicling the things that captured my attention (deficit driven as it is), and started exploring this new path. The results are some of what you see here each Saturday.
Fifteen years into this, I continue to enjoy wandering around taking pictures for no apparent reason, with no predetermined outcome. If I’ve learned anything through this journey, it’s that you can find creativity in chronicling the world around you.
Seeing, in this respect, is truly believing.
I hope you have a good week.
In case you didn’t see it…
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to photograph President Biden honoring members of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams on Monday at the White House. If you get the chance, check out this Visual Stories essay:
Photographing the President
Over the course of my 40-plus years in journalism, I’ve been fortunate to see and photograph — with one notable exception — every president since Ronald Reagan.
That San Francisco image is giving me serious Keith Haring vibes. I've flown over the South Bay dozens of times but you caught the light just right. Well done!