I find it very interesting on how the advent of social media and the internet have given people a sense of empowerment. It seems to embolden them to say things in total anonymity. Often the comments are things that they would not dare to say to a person standing right in front of them. This soap-box if you will seems to somehow make them feel justified in judging all things creative.

I am sure that you have seen a scenario where someone expresses an opinion or tries something different and gets ridiculed as a result of their attempt to be creative. Perhaps they edited a photograph differently or used bright colors in their artwork rather than a muted palette.

Such is the case with the photograph above. I put this up on the usual channels of social media after a recent trip my family took to our local zoo. Most of the comments were very kind but there was one that really struck me. The comment was simply “I don’t like it, it is not natural”. He follows me on social media so I was able to direct message him and simply responded “Let’s chat about my image”.

He was not mean-spirited by any means and was happy to engage in conversation. When I pressed him as to why he did not like image, his response was that it was not natural. I asked “in what way?” He said “he only liked images that were shot in their natural environment but a controlled situation.”

I did not say this directly to him but my take on this was that I do not make art for your comfort. I make it for mine. I don’t make art to abide by your rules but to challenge my own. The fact that he was not comfortable with the image, simple as it is, did not bother me. For myself and I am sure you can agree, that you make your art for reasons all your own, and the methods you use will be for the same personal reasons, not the least of which might be no more complicated than, “That’s what I like.”

As a photographer, I am under no obligation to do things a certain way. His discomfort or dislike if you will, is not my concern. I realize that not everyone will like everything that I put out there, but I will not let his discomfort become mine. As creatives, we wrestle each day with our own burdens, I refuse to let others become mine as well. Don’t let others bring you down and keep on creating!