Why Photography Isn’t About Cameras
This article was first published in the February 2025 edition of Venture Horizons, our email newsletter.
I know; I know. It’s a bold statement to make: that photography isn’t about cameras. But I’m going to make it.
Why?
Because recent conversations with people who enjoy photography but who have lost their “mojo” have circled around the following statement:
“I’ve been too busy to take my camera out…”
What this infers is that life has become so hectic that they don’t have time to take photographs. But they are confusing photography with spending some kind of “exclusive time” with their camera.
If you’re picturing “photography” as finding time to do discrete photo outings or planned shoots, then it’s time to shift that mindset.
Photography doesn’t have to be a bells and whistles production — it can be spontaneous, and woven into your everyday life. Let go of the idea that you need to set aside “proper” time to take photos with your camera and you’ll be surprised how much you can keep tight hold of that mojo and never let it go.
Photography was never about taking photos with your DSLR or mirrorless camera, or the set up in which you invested several hundreds (or thousands) of dollars.
Photography is about seeing; about finding; about connecting.
If you think you need to reserve time to use your camera, then you’re never going to find this time. We all lead busy lives. We’re all time poor. But… we all have access to a handy image capturing device: our smartphone camera. Or if you have the wherewithal to have one, a compact camera suitable for off the cuff shooting. Models like the Fujifilm X-M5 or X-S20, Ricoh GR II or III, OM systems cameras are compact and easy to carry around. Use it with a walkaround lens, or a small prime, and it’s just like your smartphone camera, only better.
Keep your camera with you – in your work bag, on the desk, somewhere you can grab it right away and start shooting with you see something.
Take it along when you go for your 20 minute walk in the morning / evening, when you take a break from work, or when you’re finding time to decompress during a busy day.
We all know mindfulness helps us stay centred and photography is a great way to cut off the noise around you and to “breathe” through the lens. Focus on simple, calming moments – small details that allow you to screen off the wider world: droplets of water, ripples on a surface, peeling paint, shadows on a wall, the shape of leaves, way light changes in a space. They’re not epic images, but you are seeing and photographing while being completely present in the moment.
When you find your 10 minutes to detach and decompress, do it with photography.
If things feel overwhelming, step outside for a few minutes and take a photo or two just for yourself.
I think when people say: “I haven’t had time to spend with my camera…” what they mean is:
“I haven’t found time to connect with creativity.”
And this is a terrible prospect. We all need creativity in our lives – even small moments of it during busy days. A life without creativity is a life lived in an abyss or routine, stress, concerns and anxiety. We wouldn’t wish this on our worst enemy.
Look for ways to fit moments of photography into your routine. Stretch breaks during work give you 5 minutes to look at details and find ways to compose and capture something in the environment. A commute allows you to capture interesting moments out of the public transport window (you can do this, or you can doom scroll… I’d advice against doom scrolling). Waiting for a pickup or appointment, train your eyes to look for details and work out how to best compose and capture these details.
At this point of reading, you are probably either rolling your eyes and wondering what drugs I’m on to propose this; or you’re slightly inspired and have taken your smartphone out and began looking around. Hopefully it’s the latter.
Small changes lead to big differences. If you don’t start today; if you don’t start now, you never will. We live with so much inertia in our lives, and we are very, very, very good at making excuses to explain things away. We are metaphorically digging our own creative graves if we don’t find time to flex mindfulness, to see, to find, to discover these moments of incandescent joy.
You don’t need to dedicate time for photography. Make a few small shifts – keep a camera (even your smartphone camera) accessible; stop worrying about things being picture perfect; embrace quick, creative moments, and you will learn to see and find your way back into a creative life that feels natural and fun!
Stop making excuses and go make pictures.
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