Photography Is The Great Equalizer

A photograph of an Eagle Owl by Scott Bourne

No shocker here – I love photography. But why? There are 100 reasons. But one stands out above the rest. Surprisingly, it’s not something I hear many people talking about. Ready? Photography is the great equalizer.

If you have a moving, shocking, thought-provoking, arresting, important, serious photograph that causes people to react, think, feel, etc., it doesn’t matter whether you are old or young, female or male, what race you are, what religion you are, what your history is or what your future holds, what country you live in, how much money you have, how pretty you are, how strong you are, how powerful you are, how important you are, how cool you are – all that matters – and I do mean ALL that matters – is the picture.

If people are honestly moved by your work – not by your fame or your position or your status – but simply by your work, in today’s culture that is a marvelous and rare thing.

In a world where young people want to be famous for being famous, to find something as meaningful as a photographic image and to know that it doesn’t matter who made it – just that it was made – well that is special.

Photography is the great equalizer. When I see an arresting image, the maker, no matter who they are or their station in life – the maker has the ability to rise with their image. Photos hang on the wall of the gallery or the museum or in the pages of a book or magazine or on the screen of a computer or television not because the person who made the images was important – but because the image itself was important.

Imagine that.


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