I have to confess that as informative, as interesting, and as needful as the technical discussions on the forum are, my passions tend to lie in the "esthetics" or intangible issues of photography.

It's taken me quite a while, and a lot of life experiences, to arrive a the point of needing what it is that photography seems to do for me.

I am specifically thinking now of my instinct to record. When a particular scene captures my imagination I can feel my pulse quicken. As I look at the scene in reality, my brain and eyes give me a particular emotion. I have grown to have ability to visualize a print, and to consider the issues of shadow and highlight. I can plan and control and have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to wind up with. Or not!

But there's something about making that scene my own, and exploiting a reality to gain a print, that really feels good, and real. Even spiritual, or beyond me, at times. And if I can wind up with a reasonably technically competent print, that's plenty or me. What would I do if I had to sell my work? I think I'd fail at blending business with photography. Yet I see others succeed at this very thing.

I see so much great black and white photography. Often it is made by the most obscure of persons. What's really exciting for me is to then look at the world through their eyes.

Then there's the idea that the longer I (and others) make photographs, the more our views of the world continue to evolve. I have wondered how something so subtle can prove so powerful at times.

What do my words prompt you to write about?