Photography is an interesting artistic medium for the main reason that it is easily accessible to nearly anyone. The world has certainly seen an increase in affordable yet high quality digital and film cameras. The features and settings that used to be accessible only to the professionals have been placed into the hands of soccer moms and Disney World tourists. All this has brought up the question, “What makes or does not make a photo artistic?”
I am not brave enough to answer this question definitively. All I have is my own photography, the emotions I feel when I both take and look at my photos and the words of other photographers. Likely one of the most famous photographers in the world, Ansel Adams, had this to say about creativity and originality: “Millions of men have lived to fight, build palaces and boundaries, shape destinies and societies; but the compelling force of all times has been the force of originality and creation profoundly affecting the roots of human spirit.”
For me the ability to affect the roots of the human spirit is what lies at the foundation of all art, including photography. I hope to continue taking photos with this in mind and continue to look at photography and feel the way in which I myself am being affected by the photographs.