A Thank You Letter To A Negative Comment
I can’t quite pinpoint why I started photography, but I vaguely remember enjoying the process and being a bit of a nerd when it came to cameras. I certainly never had any artistic or philosophical reasoning behind my photography. Even as it became my full-time job, I could never fully answer the question of why I take photos, what drives me, or what I want to express through my work. The closest I could get to an answer was simply that I like documenting my life, travels, and what I see. While still true, that explanation always felt a little vague.
As time went on, my style, subject matter, and approach evolved. This change wasn’t deliberate or premeditated. During this transition, I often felt unsure about what my photography was all about and struggled to place it within a specific category. While my work involves people and cities, it isn’t quite street photography. Though I have many nature-themed images, I wouldn’t call myself a landscape photographer. Even though I could be classified as a travel photographer, I don’t think documenting different cultures is what truly drives me.
While going through this identity crisis, I didn’t change anything—I simply carried on shooting whatever caught my eye. Towards the end of 2023, I became good friends with James Popsys and quickly learned that he had also experienced a similar struggle with defining his work. However, he eventually found clarity, discovering that his focus was human-made elements in nature. While I wasn’t any closer to my own answer, it was reassuring to know I wasn’t alone in this.
Fast forward to mid-2024, and I received a comment on one of my videos. I believe the person was trying to be funny or leave a remark intended to undermine my work, but instead, they did me the biggest favour of my photography journey. The comment was something along the lines of: “This isn’t street photography, just postcard pictures. Nothing to see here.”
At first, I dismissed it. But over time, that comment kept replaying in my mind—not in a negative way, but in a way that made me question what postcard pictures actually meant. Towards the end of 2024, I spent a lot of time reviewing my work, selecting the images that resonated with me most. During my travels, I became more aware of the scenes that caught my eye, and after much introspection, the realisation hit me like a steam train.
I am drawn to visually pleasing scenes with multiple elements. Scenes that, if you were physically present, you could simply stand and observe. The setting could be a busy street in London or an empty beach in Portugal, a rooftop in Tokyo or a valley in the Alps. The motivation is purely visual. I noticed that light, composition, and colour play a significantly larger role in my work than story or meaning. I also realised that it’s never about a single subject, but rather a collection of elements coming together to create a scene. In short, I am drawn to beautiful moments—ones that could easily be printed on a postcard.
As I write this, I feel a huge weight lifting off my shoulders, and my mind is firing on all cylinders, considering what this means for my future photography. Either way, I can’t remember the last time I felt this positive or had such a clear vision for my work. So, to the person who left that comment—thank you.
