These are my friends... or should I say "friends"? and I say this with all the good intention there is. Here is where im going with this, I wanna talk about Instagram and what I think of it, to some extent. For me, it has been a place to not only express my creativity (outside of my photography career) but also to engage with others that do what I do. They are my "friends"...
Now, don't ask me their names, last names, what they do for a living, where they live, or where they come from because I will most likely wont know. You see this is why I used the quotation marks up above. It is a phenomenon attached to social media. Most of the times all I can tell you about a person is their social media handle, thats it. However, this comes at no surprise when we as a community introduce ourselves as such. Even when meeting up in a group the most common question is "whats your Instagram?". It's never, "Whats your name?", or anything remotely close to a question about the person, but it will most likely be a question about the gear they use. And thats not necessarily a bad thing.
Here is where im going with this. Most people pick up a camera and begin to shoot photographs as means of self expression, to capture the beauty they see, and mainly to have fun! So no, I don't need to know your name, because I already know why you are here. The assumption is that we gather because of a common interest, thus resulting in an instant understanding and appreciation of each other that has nothing to do with who we are as people. bonded by the art you could say...and this keeps us at ease. In addition to this, as a community of individuals who share a common interest, we are not interested in your day to day life. We are more interested in how you see the same world I live in. The bond is not just about cameras and lenses. Its about the things we can do with them and how much we appreciate each other for that.
But isn't that superficial?
The answer is not that simple. Perhaps about 90% of these relationships are. At least for me they are, and im OK with that. I can not see one of my "friends" for a month, maybe a year, but when I do the bond is still there. And although I may still not know much about them, its all good because I kept in touch thru their art. Its not to say that I have not found good friends in the process, because I have. Ive been let in peoples homes, as they have been to mine. We speak of things other than photos, become each others confidants, and treat each other like real friends (because we are). We take care of each other on a personal level, and in a business one as well. We share jobs, assist each other in jobs, and go out to lunch or beers just because... I could tell you their actual names, and whatever information you need to know, but you probably wont know who im speaking of till I share their social media handle.
Its not all peaches and cream...
It never is. What did you expect? As with everything there are bound to be problems. Like the typical group dynamic there exists layers, levels, and complexities. There are cliques, "squads", haters, and irrelevant ones, and I've met all of them. I've met my fare share of them in my time. Apart from meeting some solid individuals, I've been faced with the occasional jackass that I can only assume has nothing else to do but throw dirt in your way (but there is no room in this post for that). Then there are those who think they have the right to own "spots" or even the whole city, 'haha' please. There are those who think they are better photographers because their 'followers' say so. In addition, there are also those who despite how good they may be at what they do, feel discouraged and quit because nobody seems to "like" their photos.vThen rivalries arise due to this and it becomes a 'he says she says' about something that is SO irrelevant that it only exists between captions under a photo. Many of them out there are fighting shadows and nobody is really at the receiving end of their anonymous jabs. But who are we to judge others?, specially if all we know about them is their handle and we never took the time for more.
In reality what is all this? Is it a fake world with fake friends, fake enemies, and fake planes on a photo (we've all done it). In short YES. it is. But it doesn't have to be if we remember why we started photographing in the first place. Going back to the basics, the admiration of someones work and just their work without all the nonsense can motivate you to keep your work at its best. Although that may be hard to do in this digital era of over saturation, specially when everyone is trying to sell me tea to make me fit. But its not to say it is impossible, it is very possible if we stay true to ourselves...
Here are some more photos of what I gather when I meet my "friends....