CAN I LIVE ?

The key word to a successful career in photography is specialization. No single person who has ever had success in photography did it all. Jack-of-all-trades photographers who shoot landscapes, portraits and everything in between cannot have a successful professional career.

And so goes the argument in professional photography circles, a very pointed one at that, about guys like me who just love shooting different things. And so goes my dilemma because, if I were to believe this opinion, I may very well be on the wrong path of a career.

But am I ?

I’ve always loved different things; different musical genres, different sports, different everything. Variety and eclecticism have mostly defined my tastes, my abilities and more dramatically, my personal and professional paths, which may explain why I’ve taken to seemingly unrelated practices such as caring for leather shoes, building small computer networks, penning essays and novels and taking many different types of photos: landscape photos, but also street photos, portrait photos, wildlife photos, still life photos, etc.

So specialization, although a very wise advice when it comes to making a name for oneself as a commercial professional (i.e. one who’s hired to take photos and who may have to build a portfolio reflecting one’s expertise) does not pertain to how I feel as an artistic photographer who uses the tool for personal expression first and commerce second.

And trust me, I have tried feeling otherwise. I have tried solely being a landscape photographer because I’m naturally inclined to landscapes, but I’ve had a hard time resisting, for example, the barren beauty of an old dugout or the appeal of spontaneous street portrait, especially when, after a few years of practice, I realized that all my favorite takes had this commonality which applied to any genre of photography I practiced: a mood.

So maybe this is what my categorization should be: I am a mood photographer. I delight in capturing evocative however-may-be-lit moments expressive of something, more so than producing picture-perfect-ready-for-publication images attesting only of professionalism. And since other famous photographers whose work I admire such as Michael Kenna or Todd Hido also couldn’t resist “breaking the rules” and explore other genres of photography throughout their careers, what could be the reason for little me not to experiment with the lens as I please?

Take the following shots, for example. I went to Singapore not too long ago, a world class city-state known for its delicious combination of natural habitats and grandiose skyline and I was blown away by the experience of it all. So was I not to take an artistic bite at these buildings with my camera because I don’t specialize in architectural photography?

Maybe I shouldn’t have but I couldn’t resist doing so. So I guess it won’t be of any help for my career to share these monochromatic takes of these giants all out bearing their formidable structures, but… whatever…

I’ll share them anyway.