I probably should begin this with a well known fact about myself, I am definitely an introvert and must say glad of it. What exactly is an introvert you might wonder? Well, I watched this video from TED and it described my take on it very well and hope you can take 20 minutes to watch it.
This isn’t a 50 year synopsis of my life but simply my view on what I do and why. From the begging of my photography being taken seriously by myself about 5 years ago I found something that meant more to me then the mere action of trying to capture a landscape, that something was solitude within the presence of nature. It made no difference to me if it was a warm spring morning or a stormy summer afternoon the important thing was that I was experiencing it, by myself.
I have made the comment to others, almost subconsciously that truth be known, I don’t consider myself to have many friends and even made the comment that friends “can” be a pain in the you know what, that may sound cold hearted but it is viewed as more an opportunity not an obstacle and very much don’t mean it in a bad way if that is possible. It seems to have been a choice I have made over my life thus far. I prefer the lonely walk in the woods to being surrounded by others. That isn’t to say there aren’t those that I care for deeply and will never pass up the opportunities to be with them, but I know what makes me tick and that is solitude. Within the realm of solitude I believe there must be another force interwoven to help complete the journey and that is humility. To be humble could very well be the trait I find most attractive.
What does this have to do with photography you may ask? To me it has everything to do with it. I don’t take pictures to merely capture a scene, that is simply the by product of what I am doing. If I am so lucky to make an image that can portray a personal emotions than that is the icing on the cake so to speak. I am literately drawn to places that are remote, out of the way with influence given to me by Mother Nature herself. That force that we can not see or touch but instills the very essence of life. It is within these places I begin to understand not only myself but what are truly the important things in my life.
© Brad Mangas
© Brad Mangas
Hi Brad, I am a silent follower of your blog and fan of your photography, though i don’t comment here before now! I always envy your photos, your creativity and your equipment. Sometimes i hope i can see my environment also just like “through” your eyes. I just commented here now because maybe i share the same type of personality, it is just disappointing that i don’t get the same quality of photos!
Thank You Andrea, I appreciate you taking time to comment. It is nice to know others can relate to such personal feelings. I appreciate your kind words on my photography, hey just keep taking pictures and they will get better, it’s a constant learning process for us all.
You and I have a lot of these traits in common, Brad. But I don’t think they are that uncommon, especially among photographers. Photography is not really a team sport and one of the attractive things about it is that you have the freedom to do what you want and develop your own creative vision. Being socially adept is not a requirement to being a great photographer.
That does sum it up Ken, thanks for your comment.