35:T429,Over the years, it has become a continual drive to shoot for me and, of course, the sheer joy of post-processing and the adjustments to get the ideal ‘representation’ of the scene that I like. With that goes the emotive feel of the image, both how I feel when I’m shooting and processing the image and also how the viewer might feel when looking at the finished picture. So, it seems more artistic than it does just a process of recording a scene and is it then just a different visual medium than, say, painting or drawing? Susan Sontag in her book, On Photography, thinks that it isn’t ‘art’ per se, it can be, however it is just another medium and it starts as a captured moment of time. To a certain extent, I think that is true, however, that would be on the presumption that the photographer doesn’t have a final piece of work in mind when they release the shutter; I don’t think that the process is just a mechanical one. Its end product is still creating a visual representation of something that may contain a meaning or express an emotion.36:T1198,A personal exploration of what photography means to me What, you may well ask, is the point of taking photos? Does it really serve any purpose? How do we feel when we take or look at them? I guess those questions have very subjective answers depending upon our circumstances, however, for many of us it becomes so much a part of us and our creative expression, that it develops into an overwhelming drive to pick up the camera and just shoot. For me, it’s a definite need to appreciate the amazing visual landscape around us, be that natural or man-made and to create an image that is ‘representative’ of that visual landscape. There is just so much out there waiting to be captured with such varying light conditions, even if I have photographed the same scene multiple times; each occasion, it will be a different shot. I also think that our emotional state and response at the moment that shutter is released can have a considerable effect on the image. “A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.”Ansel Adams Over the years, it has become a continual drive to shoot for me and, of course, the sheer joy of post-processing and the adjustments to get the ideal ‘representation’ of the scene that I like. With that goes the emotive feel of the image, both how I feel when I’m shooting and processing the image and also how the viewer might feel when looking at the finished picture. So, it seems more artistic than it does just a process of recording a scene and is it then just a different visual medium than, say, painting or drawing? Susan Sontag in her book, On Photography, thinks that it isn’t ‘art’ per se, it can be, however it is just another medium and it starts as a captured moment of time. To a certain extent, I think that is true, however, that would be on the presumption that the photographer doesn’t have a final piece of work in mind when they release the shutter; I don’t think that the process is just a mechanical one. Its end product is still creating a visual representation of something that may contain a meaning or express an emotion. So, if part of all of this is to convey a sense of meaning or emotion to others, do we need to look for some form of communication by posting on social media, publishing or exhibiting? Well, for some photographers, I think that this is critical, the whole end point is about communication with other people. It is, however, interesting to note that this isn’t always the case, as with Vivian Maier, who amassed thousands upon thousands of photos and many undeveloped film rolls, none of which had ever been published nor shared with anyone until after her death and subsequently found by John Maloof and covered in his superb film Finding Vivian Maier. So, for Maier, it was a very personal and introspective need to take and record the scenes that she observed in the street, without the need to communicate that to others. “To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” Elliott Erwitt As with many things in life, I reckon that there is a balance to be struck… the drive to shoot and process can be complimented and, indeed, further developed by engagement with others and being open to constructive critique. That, and enabling other people to derive pleasure from viewing the images. Where this can jump off at the deep end, of course, is when the engagement with others is more about a constant desire for validation and massaging personal insecurities. We have all come across the photographers who seem more concerned with collecting vast numbers of social media followers and ‘likes’ on their posts than they do about the images themselves. “When people look at my pictures I want them to feel the way they do when they want to read a line of a poem twice.” Robert Frank Not dissimilar to Maier, I have a strong desire to keep taking and processing images and yet, whilst I love constructive critique and a bit of appreciation always goes down well, the need to constantly publish the work isn’t my strongest driving force. It’s much more innate than needing attention and praise and in the words of Dorothea Lange, “It is no accident that the photographer becomes a photographer any more than the lion tamer becomes a lion tamer.”32:["$","$L30","at://did:plc:75dkgvlry7j43jx2v3po7cax/site.standard.document/3msvczrj7evqr",{"publication":{"href":"https://hawkinsweeks.pckt.blog","pubRecord":{"url":"https://hawkinsweeks.pckt.blog","icon":{"ref":{"$link":"bafkreid5lljocxmifqvkugnywz3exoirn5yeyirjfpfqmr3rru6tyjw35y"},"size":1577618,"$type":"blob","mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"name":"Hawkins-Weeks Photography","$type":"site.standard.publication","theme":{"dark":{"link":"#60a5fa","text":"#e5e7eb","accent":"#3d5a80","background":"#0b111c","surfaceHover":"#162033"},"font":"literata","$type":"pub.leaflet.publication#theme","light":{"link":"#3b82f6","text":"#e5e7eb","accent":"#2d5fa5","background":"#0f172a","surfaceHover":"#1e293b"},"transparency":80,"highlightColor":"theme","highlightShape":"round","tileBackground":false,"backgroundTileSize":30},"basicTheme":{"$type":"site.standard.theme.basic","accent":{"b":165,"g":95,"r":45,"$type":"site.standard.theme.color#rgb"},"background":{"b":42,"g":23,"r":15,"$type":"site.standard.theme.color#rgb"},"foreground":{"b":235,"g":231,"r":229,"$type":"site.standard.theme.color#rgb"},"accentForeground":{"b":226,"g":223,"r":221,"$type":"site.standard.theme.color#rgb"}},"description":"A blog about photography, featuring landscape, nature, abstract and macro subjects, plus articles on art, music and books (oh, and coffee!)","preferences":{"showComments":true,"showMentions":true,"showPrevNext":false,"showFirstLast":false,"showInDiscover":true,"showRecommends":true,"prevNextDirection":"rtl"}},"uri":"at://did:plc:75dkgvlry7j43jx2v3po7cax/site.standard.publication/3mmwenuviiv74"},"ownerDid":"@hawkinsweeks.eurosky.social","contributors":[{"did":"did:plc:75dkgvlry7j43jx2v3po7cax","handle":"hawkinsweeks.eurosky.social","displayName":"David Hawkins-Weeks"}],"documents":{"comments_on_documents":[{"count":0}],"document_mentions_in_bsky":[{"count":0}],"recommends_on_documents":[{"count":2}],"data":{"path":"/why-spend-so-much-time-taking-photos-hd89t4e","site":"at://did:plc:75dkgvlry7j43jx2v3po7cax/site.standard.publication/3mmwenuviiv74","tags":["Photography","Books","feelings","emotion","art","quote","quotation"],"$type":"site.standard.document","langs":["en"],"title":"Why spend so much time taking photos?","content":{"$type":"blog.pckt.content","items":[{"$type":"blog.pckt.block.heading","level":3,"plaintext":"A personal exploration of what photography means to me"},{"$type":"blog.pckt.block.image","attrs":{"alt":"A high-contrast black and white photograph of a grassy, rutted farm track cutting through open fields on a crisp, frosty morning. The central path is covered in bright, frosty grass, creating strong leading lines that recede toward a distant horizon lined with bare trees. To the left and right of the path lie dark, deeply textured ploughed agricultural fields, accentuating the sharp seasonal contrast under a clear, low-angled morning sky.","src":"blob:bafkreigvjecaudtw7rcuzpvnkiprn32rklx2fnpnn4qttgz7lwcbobuh6q","blob":{"ref":{"$link":"bafkreigvjecaudtw7rcuzpvnkiprn32rklx2fnpnn4qttgz7lwcbobuh6q"},"size":528616,"$type":"blob","mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"align":"center","width":"500","placeholder":"data:image/jpeg;base64,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","naturalWidth":1500,"naturalHeight":844}},{"$type":"blog.pckt.block.text","plaintext":"What, you may well ask, is the point of taking photos? Does it really serve any purpose? How do we feel when we take or look at them?"},{"$type":"blog.pckt.block.text","plaintext":"I guess those questions have very subjective answers depending upon our circumstances, however, for many of us it becomes so much a part of us and our creative expression, that it develops into an overwhelming drive to pick up the camera and just shoot. For me, it’s a definite need to appreciate the amazing visual landscape around us, be that natural or man-made and to create an image that is ‘representative’ of that visual landscape. There is just so much out there waiting to be captured with such varying light conditions, even if I have photographed the same scene multiple times; each occasion, it will be a different shot. I also think that our emotional state and response at the moment that shutter is released can have a considerable effect on the image."},{"$type":"blog.pckt.block.blockquote","content":[{"$type":"blog.pckt.block.text","facets":[{"index":{"byteEnd":124,"byteStart":0},"features":[{"$type":"blog.pckt.richtext.facet#italic"}]}],"plaintext":"“A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.”"},{"$type":"blog.pckt.block.text","facets":[{"index":{"byteEnd":11,"byteStart":0},"features":[{"$type":"blog.pckt.richtext.facet#bold"}]}],"plaintext":"Ansel Adams"}]},{"$type":"blog.pckt.block.image","attrs":{"alt":"A black and white square photograph captures a calm sea under an overcast sky, with gentle waves rolling onto the shore in the foreground. In the middle ground, two dark wooden groyne posts emerge from the calm water, one of which is topped with a square navigational marker. The horizon line sits low in the frame, separating the still ocean from a dense, textured layer of grey clouds.","src":"blob:bafkreigbrtp7qi6jmyrog75jkn55mmxsdofsk3fwrtls7old6v46zhk4f4","blob":{"ref":{"$link":"bafkreigbrtp7qi6jmyrog75jkn55mmxsdofsk3fwrtls7old6v46zhk4f4"},"size":1095212,"$type":"blob","mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"align":"center","width":"300","placeholder":"data:image/jpeg;base64,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","naturalWidth":1920,"naturalHeight":1920}},{"$type":"blog.pckt.block.text","facets":[{"index":{"byteEnd":543,"byteStart":531},"features":[{"uri":"https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7907.Susan_Sontag","$type":"blog.pckt.richtext.facet#link"}]},{"index":{"byteEnd":571,"byteStart":557},"features":[{"uri":"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52372.On_Photography","$type":"blog.pckt.richtext.facet#link"},{"$type":"blog.pckt.richtext.facet#italic"}]}],"plaintext":"$35"},{"$type":"blog.pckt.block.image","attrs":{"alt":"A close-up photograph displays three overlapping, rounded plastic surfaces shimmering with a rich golden-bronze hue. Countless water droplets of various sizes cover the surfaces, catching the light and creating a textured pattern of highlights and shadows. The shallow depth of field keeps the rightmost sphere in sharp focus, while the surfaces behind it gradually blur into the background.","src":"blob:bafkreiaazrsvqtj2dxnvhfurpzhanns57yhgipdqv4t2wtahbksjzcv3au","blob":{"ref":{"$link":"bafkreiaazrsvqtj2dxnvhfurpzhanns57yhgipdqv4t2wtahbksjzcv3au"},"size":910002,"$type":"blob","mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"align":"center","width":"500","placeholder":"data:image/jpeg;base64,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","naturalWidth":1920,"naturalHeight":1268}},{"$type":"blog.pckt.block.text","facets":[{"index":{"byteEnd":399,"byteStart":387},"features":[{"uri":"http://www.vivianmaier.com/","$type":"blog.pckt.richtext.facet#link"}]},{"index":{"byteEnd":653,"byteStart":633},"features":[{"uri":"http://findingvivianmaier.com/","$type":"blog.pckt.richtext.facet#link"},{"$type":"blog.pckt.richtext.facet#italic"}]}],"plaintext":"So, if part of all of this is to convey a sense of meaning or emotion to others, do we need to look for some form of communication by posting on social media, publishing or exhibiting? Well, for some photographers, I think that this is critical, the whole end point is about communication with other people. It is, however, interesting to note that this isn’t always the case, as with Vivian Maier, who amassed thousands upon thousands of photos and many undeveloped film rolls, none of which had ever been published nor shared with anyone until after her death and subsequently found by John Maloof and covered in his superb film Finding Vivian Maier. So, for Maier, it was a very personal and introspective need to take and record the scenes that she observed in the street, without the need to communicate that to others."},{"$type":"blog.pckt.block.blockquote","content":[{"$type":"blog.pckt.block.text","facets":[{"index":{"byteEnd":224,"byteStart":0},"features":[{"$type":"blog.pckt.richtext.facet#italic"}]}],"plaintext":"“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” "},{"$type":"blog.pckt.block.text","facets":[{"index":{"byteEnd":14,"byteStart":0},"features":[{"$type":"blog.pckt.richtext.facet#bold"}]}],"plaintext":"Elliott Erwitt"}]},{"$type":"blog.pckt.block.text","plaintext":"As with many things in life, I reckon that there is a balance to be struck… the drive to shoot and process can be complimented and, indeed, further developed by engagement with others and being open to constructive critique. That, and enabling other people to derive pleasure from viewing the images. Where this can jump off at the deep end, of course, is when the engagement with others is more about a constant desire for validation and massaging personal insecurities. We have all come across the photographers who seem more concerned with collecting vast numbers of social media followers and ‘likes’ on their posts than they do about the images themselves."},{"$type":"blog.pckt.block.image","attrs":{"alt":"A four-panel grid of black and white square photographs captures various elements of frozen nature:\nTop-Left Panel: A close-up view of a flowering bush dusted with a delicate layer of white frost. The leaves are broad and dark with textured, ice-rimmed edges, framing tight clusters of small, round flower buds.\nTop-Right Panel: A single, slender stalk of wild grass stretches diagonally from the left edge toward the upper right. The feathery seed head is lightly coated in frost, standing out against a softly blurred, dark background.\nBottom-Left Panel: A minimalist composition featuring delicate, bare twigs with tiny seed pods branching out against a solid, light grey background, creating a stark, silhouette-like winter pattern.\nBottom-Right Panel: A low-angle macro shot of textured ground, showing horizontal lines of thick frost dusting dark soil or fallen leaves, with a very shallow depth of field.","src":"blob:bafkreied3b7wdebt2ize5dbyng2vbtas3w6fdltf7lh6egqkbrzo7nl2zq","blob":{"ref":{"$link":"bafkreied3b7wdebt2ize5dbyng2vbtas3w6fdltf7lh6egqkbrzo7nl2zq"},"size":669539,"$type":"blob","mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"align":"center","width":"500","placeholder":"data:image/jpeg;base64,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","naturalWidth":1920,"naturalHeight":1920}},{"$type":"blog.pckt.block.blockquote","content":[{"$type":"blog.pckt.block.text","facets":[{"index":{"byteEnd":122,"byteStart":0},"features":[{"$type":"blog.pckt.richtext.facet#italic"}]}],"plaintext":"“When people look at my pictures I want them to feel the way they do when they want to read a line of a poem twice.” "},{"$type":"blog.pckt.block.text","facets":[{"index":{"byteEnd":2,"byteStart":0},"features":[{"$type":"blog.pckt.richtext.facet#italic"}]},{"index":{"byteEnd":14,"byteStart":2},"features":[{"$type":"blog.pckt.richtext.facet#bold"}]}],"plaintext":" Robert Frank"}]},{"$type":"blog.pckt.block.image","attrs":{"alt":"A grainy, black and white square Holga photograph shows a tall wooden telegraph pole standing prominently on the right side of the frame. Cable lines stretch from its T-shaped crossarm toward the upper right corner and down toward a distant hill. The horizon is a dark, blurry silhouette of a hill with a second, tiny telegraph pole visible on the ridge line. 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It’s much more innate than needing attention and praise and in the words of Dorothea Lange, “It is no accident that the photographer becomes a photographer any more than the lion tamer becomes a lion tamer.”"}]},"updatedAt":"2026-08-13T15:24:47.000Z","coverImage":{"ref":{"$link":"bafkreigvjecaudtw7rcuzpvnkiprn32rklx2fnpnn4qttgz7lwcbobuh6q"},"size":528616,"$type":"blob","mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"description":"A personal exploration of what photography means to me","publishedAt":"2026-08-12T15:04:33.000Z","textContent":"$36","theme":"$undefined","preferences":"$undefined"},"uri":"at://did:plc:75dkgvlry7j43jx2v3po7cax/site.standard.document/3msvczrj7evqr","sort_date":"2026-08-12T15:04:33+00:00"}}] 33:["$","$L30","at://did:plc:dfffydq7eqa5yof4cfeh23vh/site.standard.document/3ms54ksbje62m",{"publication":{"href":"https://lindsaykwardell.com","pubRecord":{"url":"https://lindsaykwardell.com","name":"Lindsay Wardell","$type":"site.standard.publication","createdAt":"2026-08-01T02:24:56.193Z","description":"Programmer and writer.","preferences":{"showComments":true,"showMentions":true,"showPrevNext":false,"showFirstLast":false,"showInDiscover":true,"showRecommends":true,"prevNextDirection":"rtl"},"theme":"$undefined"},"uri":"at://did:plc:dfffydq7eqa5yof4cfeh23vh/site.standard.publication/3mryg3h7oou2i"},"ownerDid":"@lindsaykwardell.com","contributors":[{"did":"did:plc:dfffydq7eqa5yof4cfeh23vh","handle":"lindsaykwardell.com","displayName":"Lindsay Wardell"}],"documents":{"comments_on_documents":[{"count":0}],"document_mentions_in_bsky":[{"count":0}],"recommends_on_documents":[{"count":0}],"data":{"path":"/blog/photo-cdb694bf","site":"at://did:plc:dfffydq7eqa5yof4cfeh23vh/site.standard.publication/3mryg3h7oou2i","tags":["photo","emotion"],"$type":"site.standard.document","title":"Emotion","coverImage":{"ref":{"$link":"bafkreiftumsinav4nh6aoprrs5l7doxioaggtxb5fbaqtt3dszfeebgxee"},"size":342235,"$type":"blob","mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"description":"Frost on a log bench, slowly melting towards the bottom of the frame.","publishedAt":"2026-01-17T00:00:00.000Z","textContent":"Frost on a log bench, slowly melting towards the bottom of the frame.","canonicalUrl":"https://lindsaykwardell.com/blog/photo-cdb694bf","theme":"$undefined","preferences":"$undefined"},"uri":"at://did:plc:dfffydq7eqa5yof4cfeh23vh/site.standard.document/3ms54ksbje62m","sort_date":"2026-01-17T00:00:00+00:00"}}] 37:Td51,

This Friday and Saturday, the University of Sussex hosted the Thinking Feeling conference on affect, feeling and emotion, attempting to theorise the myriad ways in which this is mapped out.

To give a brief rundown of the papers that were of particular interest to my (inexperienced in this area) ear, Professor Eva Illouz gave a fascinating preliminary paper on whether we can deem emotions as a specific category of commodity under late capitalism, alongside semiotic commodities. Illouz provided a typology of moods, intimacy (and relational emotons) and emotional self-realisation (mental health), which are packaged and sold. For instance, tourism and mood music under "moods"; the idea of the "pure gift" under "intimacy"; and the pathologisation of shyness under "self-realisation".

The points that arose from this were also of interest. My query was whether this is less of a radical idea than was proposed. For instance, "for everything else, there's Mastercard" knows that it is packaging happiness, still delineated as a pure sphere, under the prerequisite of capitalist expenditure. Keston Sutherland also asked whether Marx had not foreseen this, as he defines the commodity as also being of an "idea", not just a physical object. Finally Alex Düttmam asked whether Illouz's theory really was "critical" or merely an observational typology, picking up upon her interchangeable use of "industry" and "capitalism" and the different connotations that Adorno gives to each. Illouz responded by situating herself in an "agnostic" French tradition, in which she tried to place Foucault. Much debate ensued and I have to say, from my own work on Foucault, that I thought this untenable; Foucault swings between commitment and agnosticism. Take, for instance, his late work on Englightenment. At an earlier point, he says that "reason cannot be put on trial", but later seems committed to a praxis of limit-attitude that will expose the limits of the epistemological field.

Jumping ahead, and I particularly enjoyed papers from Elahe Haschemi Yekani on British execeptionalism and the attempt to re-write British history as being always-already multicultural; Ruth Charnock on Anaïs Nin's performance of presence (I'm not intimate with Nin's work -- pun intended) and Jennifer Cooke on Beckett's How It Is and other experimental writing on boredom. This was an interesting, if perhaps problematic in areas, paper. Noting that Beckett's radical undercutting of certainties in this text leaves only the narrator, Cooke proposed a modernist reader, for whom the text is interesting, and an outsider, for whom it becomes boring. This is a drastic reduction of Cooke's paper, but it is interesting to re-think Beckett's narrators. In Worstward Ho!, for instance, the narrator will only continue "until nohow on"; when the purpose of the text no longer exists, so too will the narrator. Furthermore, in Ohio Impromptu, Reader again erases his own subjectivity through the assertion that "little is left to tell". When all is told, the "point" of the narrator also vanishes. Finally, I wonder if the extrapolation of Cooke's paper leads back to Brian McHale's formulations on the epistemological dominant of Modernist literature...

Featured image by Charlie Phillips under a CC-BY license.

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Tag: emotion

Why spend so much time taking photos?

Why spend so much time taking photos?

Emotion

Thinking Feeling Conference at the University of Sussex