I have been thinking about what photography is for a while now. It’s more relevant than ever in this age of AI. I use photography not as a reflection of reality, but as a medium to convey a story or an emotion. However, like any great pursuit of art, there is a balance you need to maintain. I felt like I lost that balance for a while, as I spent a lot of time getting stuck in the technical and post-processing phases rather than investing most of my time in capturing and pre-production stages.
Then, this photography challenge came along at just the right moment of realization. So, I decided to make a change. For this challenge, I went all-in on simplicity. I shot only in auto mode, no cropping, and no Lightroom wizardry, just capturing what my phone saw.
And you know what? I absolutely loved it. It gave me a chance to really appreciate the art of photography. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against photo editing; I think it’s a crucial part of the art. But I learned that you can’t rely solely on post-processing. You’ve got to put effort into every step to create amazing photographs.
For the “People & Portrait” theme, I wanted to tell a little story about someone lost in their thoughts. So, I named this series ‘Stuck in Black and White.’
