charging the air for meaning to occur

A couple of weeks back I saw a video on YouTube titled “How Todd Hido Creates His Landscapes Photographs by Willem Verbeeck. In this video Todd said “It’s not my job to create meaning but rather charge the air so meaning can occur” – Todd Hido. This is an idea that I have been chewing on for some time now and I wanted to share my dissection/interpretation and possibly how it can be applied to the photos that you make. I think that many aspiring photographers place an overleighing pressure on themselves to make photos that have some obvious meaning. As a photographer, I believe that it is important to understand and view each photo as a work/piece of art. Art portrays emotion and this emotion varies in each individual who views your work. Everyone comes from different backgrounds with different experiences that lead to different views and opinions that are then reflected in the interpretations that people will have and place on your work. In my opinion, a good photo is a photo that promotes these different feelings and emotions appealing to everyone in different ways. So, it is not our job as the photographer to create meaning. We do not have to come up with some complex interpretation and meaning for each photo that we create as it will appeal to everyone in a different way. Make photos that promote and evoke feelings and emotions!