Different people, due to their different life experiences and understanding of the world around them, will without doubt produce images which reflect that world.
Different interests and hobbies, the sex of the individual, educational backgroud, marital status can all have an effect on the photographs we may produce.
We may have an interest in politics or social issues that lead us into that area of documentary photography and images such as those above will become prominent. My personal interests in this type of documentary work have developed over many years.
Travelling to different parts of the world and different cities will again influence the type of pictures we take from holiday snaps to images of commercial value. Buildings and architechture have a large following amongst photographers. Travel is said to broaden the mind I would also say that it broadens our perspective on what and how we produce images.
My personal interest in Social and documentary work stems from my desire to travel and see new things. What I found was not always pleasant or comfortable. My interest has affected the way I go about making images, where I travel too and what equipment I choose to use. I don't intend to get into discussions on what equipment is ''right or wrong'' or what lens is the sharpest there is enough of that already on the interenet. It suffices to say whatever works for you is the right camera and lens.
Sports photography is one area that not only requires the photographer to have at least a basic understanding of the game being played but probably some specialised equipment. Large telephoto lenses and a quick focusing camera are almost essential as is the ability on behalf of the photographer to be able to anticipate what and where things are going to happen in the game. Sports photography can be expensive (equipment wise) but equally can be done with more budget equipment with a little care and planning.
Making pictures is a mixture of technical know how and emotional response to the image being made. Seeing a picture and making it work in 2 dimesions is the way a good photographer works.
Comments