Reading #2

Bill Jay's article was very encouraging and honest about what he thinks it means to be a photographer and what it takes to be one. I enjoyed reading his advice in terms of what to photograph and how to keep in mind what is accessible and what inspires you. His words remind photographers to shoot constantly and deliberately, and explains that "you do not become good at anything unless you do it earnestly" which I think is extremely important when considering a future in the arts. Since photography is rooted in the capture of events and people and places at certain times under a specific context, I think it's also a capture of truth and fact, as Jay suggests. He mentions college students never photographing their interpretations of "college life" despite all having experienced it, which I found interesting and also eye-opening in that photography is very much about the person holding the camera, whether or not we may think so while looking at images and the subject being photographed. This article also served to me as a reminder to be more patient with photographing, and with art in general. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and found Jay's advice very helpful and thought-provoking.