Thank you, Chris! Hope you guys are doing well.
I appreciate the compliment, Youssef! Indeed, we are each unique, and thereās no better way to treat another person than to accept them for who and how they are.
No offense taken Guy! I just wanted to point out people have a variety of motivations, even extroverts =)
Interesting and insightful article., however, I donāt lnow where i would fit in. In the mornings i am an introvert. In the afternoons an extrovert but not very big at posting on social media. Awards can be beneficial for gaining a reputation to help sell photos. I am also very happy and content to be by myself in natureā¦ even relish it. However, i enjoy being with others and learning new things. Yet if i am around a lot of people for many hours i get wound up and need some quiet time. I like to be with people and i like being by myself.
Thanks Guy, this article really made me understand myself a little better. I moved for the winter season (maybe longer) to Austria into a little cold and dark apartment with nobody around but a wood workers shed. And people were asking if i was not going to miss my friends and family in this little ācaveā, I guess this question came more from extravert persons. My answer was the reason I do this, is to be more in nature on myself on the free times I have. I really enjoy this āādarknessāā.
Thank you, Susan! From your description it sounds to me like you are an introvert, although perhaps not on the extreme end. If you havenāt done so already, I suggest looking up some online personality test. There are many good ones (Myers-Briggs, Big-5, etc.) that will guide you toward a specific answer about your penchant for introversion.
Thanks, Ken! I understand completely. As some of my friends know, sometimes weāll come across some remote ruin, derelict cabin, or large cave, and my instinctive response to seeing them is, āI could live here.ā
I sent Guyās essay to our Photo Arts Guildās members. This is what I said by way of introduction.
" I think that this is a superb essay and definitely one that is worth reading. I do, however, have one caveat. There are few extreme extroverts or introverts. Most of us are a mix in varying degrees. What he says about introverted photographers certainly applies to me. Plus, his essay explains why many of us introverts have problems with the way that photography for the most part is directed toward extroverts. What he says about extroverted photographers does not have very much appeal for me. However, that has nothing to do with the quality of my photography. One more thing, I donāt see any value judgments being appropriate to whether one is a extroverted photographer or an introverted photographer. The value of his essay is purely descriptive. The value of his essay is in our self understanding."
Furthermore, photographs have a different meaning for me than they do for Guy. In the early 60s, I attended a campfire presentation in Kingās Canyon NP where the presenter showed photographs of backpacking in the high alpine areas of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Those photographs kick started what was to change my life forever. I was compelled to experience for myself what those photographs communicated deep inside of me. As you can imagine, the photographs did not come close to the direct experience. However, because I was so indebted to those photographs, a camera became my constant companion in all of my wilderness experiences. Photography both in the field and in the darkroom is a mystical experience for me. When I look through the viewfinder, I am drawn into a mystical merging with what I see. It is way, way more than just a visual experience. When I am in the field and when I am in the digital darkroom, I am extremely alive and completely at peace. Plus, I have both a desire and a need to share my photographs with others in the hope that their lives might be touched the way mine has been.
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Excellent, Guy. As I am generally an introvert except around good friends, I can very much relate to the whole article. Very insightful and quite helpful to provide clarity for me to what has always been there, but never accurately articulated.
Thanks, my friend!
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āOften the goal is to enjoy my time in the outdoors with some friends that share the same passion for the outdoors as me.ā
This is huge for me.
Iāve met both types described in Guyās post while in the fieldāthe ones who abhor crowds and get visibly uncomfortable having to share a sighting (some people are just selfish, but thatās not to whom Iām referring)ā¦ and the others that will happily gab away with anyone endlessly, or seek glory at every turn.
However, there are a lot of us stuck in between. I was definitely more of a wallflower growing up, but Iāve evolved over the years, and now Iām more outgoing and comfortable with the people I meet during shoots. Which is good since itās basically a requirement for me to be more of an extrovert as a tour leader. I have to interact with clients during tours, obviously, but Iām not closed off around strangers either. Part of that is remembering my own roots and trying to provide the help I wish I had received in my formative years in the fieldā¦ but the other part is what Matt hit on: sharing some of these amazing experiences is, for me, often the most rewarding part of the gig.
There are favorite solo wildlife moments I can look back onāthere is something a little selfish tied to the satisfaction derived from a private, exclusive photo opportunityābut the ones Iām really fond of are the encounters shared with others. Iāve never been moved to tears because of a wildlife encounter, but the closest Iāve come was due to the joy felt by the others I was with.
Max
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Thank you for sharing the article, Jack! Although Iām not inclined to mysticism, from your description it sounds like the meanings we find in photography are actually not that different.
Thanks, Harley! It was good seeing you in UT. I hope your desert trip was enjoyable.
Thank you for sharing your experience, Max! I think itās pretty obvious to anyone engaged in internet discussions of photography that many (perhaps most) enjoy social interaction as you do. My point is that this is not a universal preference, and that photography offers many dimensions of rewarding experiences to those who prefer solitary experiences, too.
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Good insights Guy. While some of it might be over simplified like Matt and Sean mentioned, I feel like Iāve been able to come to better terms with my introversion over the past few years. When I was growing up I always felt that people thought I was weird or different. Unfortunate that school and some work environments place such a high priority on extroversion. We need both in this world. If everyone talked all the time who would ever listen or contemplate?
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Thank you very much for writing and posting such an insightful article, Guy. Itās a perfect summation of the creative spirit of nearly every nature and landscape photographer. So very reaffirming.
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I know that feeling, Richard. Thank you!
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Thank you, Jim! Iām glad you liked it.
Wonderful writing, Guy. I feel very fortunate that I grew up in a time where introversion is much more understood, even in the corporate world where I work. I sure which I had read this two years ago, though! I stressed myself out a lot forcing myself to share and be more social than I felt comfortable.
As an aside, for the past few months Iāve made many photos but Iāve had a really hard time sharing them. I think the reasons are spelled out perfectly in this article; I relish the experience of making them, but the social game just isnāt as appealing and takes a lot of energy out of me. Iām slowly trying to figure out what is best for me.
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Thank you very much, Brent! Itās good to hear that your workplace understands and respects introversion. That was not so much the case when I still held a corporate job.
This is a great article with great insights. I see my highly introverted self as a youth, yet, with age, education, experience, and a corresponding increase in self-esteem, I now fall between intro and extraversion. Professionally, as an engineer, I love working as part of a team. But I also love escaping from that sometimes chaotic environment with landscape photography. Thank you for the article!