(Part two of two—part one is in the comments)
What is a good photo? My friend takes clever, interesting, funny photos of her friends on her phone. They are better than many of mine. She doesn't consider herself a photographer. I've started using my old iPhone to take photos of whatever's interesting. Honestly, who was I trying to impress by using manual mode on my expensive camera? That is not as fun as taking photos on my phone, I'll tell you.
A resolution: let me take photos for myself. Not of the most exotic places I go or wildest things I do. Not emulations of Fan Ho or Robert Frank (although I will continue to study them, and anyone reading this should too). Let me take photos of the moments every day that make me feel something. That I will look back on tomorrow or in 2026 and almost be able to smell that moment.
Future Teo: that you always keep a healthy balance between what you have to do and what you love. That you explore, that you always find something unique. If times are rough, take a step back and see how trivial they are.
Learn. Relax. Flourish. Grow. Live.
Until next year,
Teo
Hi, I'm Teo. A year ago today, I deleted Instagram from my phone. I felt like I was creating art for my followers instead of myself — I'd see something and take a picture of it because it would look good on my Instagram feed and get lots of likes. I realized that was creatively stifling, so I threw Instagram out of my life.
Turns out it was my best, most creative year ever. I started looking at classic photographers with decades of experience, people who had pioneered photography, rather than 20-year-olds with a dSLR and 20k followers. I don't mean to sound pretentious, but it felt great to find the true masters of the art form. Inspired them, I found my own style and my own way of looking at the world.
I'd encourage anyone on this app to take a break — for 24 hours, for a week, a year. It will be refreshing.
Is this a rant? Yeah, probably. I've come to realize how addictive and limiting social media is; I know I'm better off without it. (I'll probably leave Instagram again tomorrow oops)
If you got this far, thanks for hearing me out! I hope I offer a fresh perspective on it.
P.S. I don't wear suit jackets anymore, what a relief haha
