Why? An interesting question as pertains to a lot of things, but in my mind even more so as it relates to Photography.

This was a question I had not really thought about until recently. Why do I participate in Photography? I have many reasons. Growing up my parents encouraged being in nature. We were always camping, or going to wild life centers and learning about flora and fauna. We visited nature preserves, witnessed bird migrations and learned the value of wild life and natural habitats. I also suffered a major trauma when I was becoming a teenager and photography helped me escape that trauma. Photography gave me a place to channel my creativity and my imagination. As an adult my career is in a technical field with no creative outlet in and of itself, so photography still provides that creative outlet I yearn for and also provides me with quiet time, when I don’t have to think nearly as much as I do while at work. What is your “WHY”, for photography? I first heard this concept while watching a webinar at the Journal of Wildlife Photography. The host of this event is a professional wild life photographer, Gerry van der Walt. Gerry posed this question at the beginning of his webinar and went on to explain how your “Why” affects the outcome of your photography. It is a very good webinar and I do highly recommend The Journal of Wildlife Photography as a website full of great resources for photographers. Check it out if you have the inclination.