Confessions from a Digital Photographer: Why I Love It and Why I’m Moving On
Time is but a bird, and the bird is on the wing.
Ok friends, confession time. I’m about to let you in on some controversial opinions I hold about art and creativity. So here it is.
I think it’s absolutely WONDERFUL that that “everybody is a photographer” nowadays because of the powerful little machines so many of us carry in our pockets, and the accessibility and affordability of digital cameras. It’s not a threat to photographers. It’s an opportunity for more people to take part in creative acts, which is always something to celebrate.
I am EXCITED by artificial intelligence art generators (AI tools like MidJourney and DALL-E and new AI art generators associated with stock photography companies like Getty and Shutterstock). I am excited about their possibilities as tools in the creative process (while also acknowledging some very real ethical concerns).
Even though I still consider myself a photographer, I’m less and less interested in capturing and selling digital photos, and more and more interested in… well, something more.
So before we get into those controversial views, first let’s rewind a bit. If you’ve been a regular or sometimes visitor to my site over the last decade, you should recognize the above image: it’s been part of my brand for years. And as a visitor to the new Wings Open, you will have noticed: THINGS HAVE CHANGED! And I couldn’t be more excited. So here’s a little more about the why (yes, the controversial opinions are part of that), and what you can expect to find here.
Wings Open has been around for almost 10 years, with a focus on nature and landscape photography. Digital photography is still a big part of my creative life and one of my greatest loves. But it’s not my only love. Over the past several years, my mindfulness practice has deepened and my creative curiosity has grown. Partly in response to the changing technologies of the world and partly in response to my own insatiable desire to learn, I want to do MORE.
While I’m changing, the world of art is changing too: digital photography is widespread and accessible to so many people now—the phones in many of our pockets are more powerful than the first digital camera I shot with. While some photographers bemoan this, I genuinely celebrate it.
Creating art and capturing our lives is not something that should be an exclusive opportunity for those wealthy enough to have fancy equipment and educational opportunities. And “good” photos don’t matter more than “bad” ones (whatever that means). They are simply serving different purposes. Whether it’s a quick snapshot or a carefully composed and exposed piece of technical and aesthetic beauty, I am thrilled that someone created it, that it exists. So yes, I celebrate every photo someone posts of their meal, their workout, their sunset, their dog, their sleeping child. How beautiful for all of us to capture and share these daily moments that make up our lives.
Which leads me to another controversial opinion: I believe our cell phones and cameras can remind us to be more present with our lives.
Many people believe we’re not engaging with our lives when we’re capturing them with our phone. I disagree. Taking a moment to pause, to photograph what’s in front of us and curate it in our photo feed allows us to be more present. See this meal. Hear these friends laugh. See my feet on this ground in this moment. Look at this cloud. These flowers. Each capture is a moment of mindfulness and creativity. Here’s what’s happening now. See, world, something I created.
At the same time, we have the explosion of AI technology, making it possible for us to type a few words and generate and manipulate digital versions straight out of our imaginations. How profound is that! I can IMAGINE images that convey strange and wild concepts, and I can play with prompts until I create something that aligns with that vision. Yes, AI is problematic with issues of copyright and information integrity. But it’s also a fascinating, accessible way for people to create. (And yes, I do think creativity is involved, but that’s a discussion for another blog post.)
And yet. As excited as I am about the accessibility of these technologies and how they bring creativity into our everyday lives, as an artist, I find myself drawn to exploring new creative possibilities. While I appreciate digital photography as an art form, its abundance and unlimited reproducibility has me craving ways to bring “the artist’s hand” into one-of-a-kind pieces.
It’s from that place that my obsession with cyanotypes has grown. Even when it starts from a digital photo negative, this printing process from the 1800s results in a completely different piece with every coated paper and every exposure.
I’m leaning into other retro processes as well—in the past couple of years, I’ve taken classes and played with shooting on film, developing tintypes, making monoprints with an etching press, photo transfers with hand sanitizer (what?!), linocuts, gelli printing, art journaling, and encaustic painting. And, to get even more wild, I’ve also explored the blending of old and new: an encaustic painting series over images I generated from a series of AI prompts in MidJourney. A series of abstract ink and watercolor sketches based on a painting style I discovered through AI.
And all the while, I’ve been studying Buddhism (I became a lay-ordained Buddhist minister in 2020), practicing meditation, and going on at least yearly silent meditation retreats. I became a certified workplace mindfulness facilitator and launched a mindfulness program at my Federal workplace.
So this new site reflects shifts in my passions and my focus in life. A shift towards seeking peace and joy for myself and others. A desire to be present with whatever is arising: the beautiful and the difficult, the things I crave and the things I wish to turn away. A desire to share as I learn and play so that others, too, can find equilibrium in the midst of the ever-spiraling wildness of our world.
And so that’s what you’ll find here. A space that celebrates curiosity and exploration and play. A space that explores the connection between mindfulness and creativity. A space to experiment and find joy in a life aligned with our values. A space of compassion and community. A space where art doesn’t have to be “good.” It doesn’t have to be anything. The act of creating is what matters. Being present is what matters. Loving it all bigger and harder than you ever thought possible is what matters.
So, friend, I hope you’ll walk with me on this path. Because we’re all in this together.