To Show or Not to Show?

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Recently, a friend invited me to join her in sharing a photography exhibit at a local gallery space. Since I admire her work, I felt flattered. My initial reaction was to say ââÅYes!â❠However, my next reaction was a clear ââÅNo, thanks.â❠I realized that framing, hanging, and showing my work would probably bring me little pleasure.

I take photographs for several reasons. First, I think, is the desire to stop timeâââto capture a moment that will never return. This has become somewhat of an affectionate joke in my family, because many pictures I take again and again and again. I probably have thirty years of icicle shots, not to mention violet shots, unfurling leaves, and misty fields. Each time my eye is caught by something like the plump sensual curves of a head of garlic, I delight anew in the sight. Then I race for my camera. The taking of such pictures is what matters more than the viewing.

The second reason I shoot is to share. I take great joy in the glee of a little girl at the beach and I want others to know that joy. The peace of a lovely meadow soothes my spirit, and I want others to feel soothed as well. Pictures like these are a type of visual poetry that I use to share an experience. Often, I have used my photographs to create greeting cards that I send or give as gifts. Making and sending these cards is one way I hug my friends.

Both types of photography are totally engrossing. They engage my mind, my hands, my spirit, and my emotions. Taking such pictures puts me into a flow state, where everything is working as it should and time ceases to exist.

However, getting ready for a show requires something else: thought and effort. Pictures must be selected, printed, matted, framed, and hung. Decisions must be made. Are the pictures for sale? What price should I put on each? The entire process sounds more like work than play.

I earn my living as a writer. Writing is a creative endeavor certainly, but when you write for money, you are always aware of the marketplace. That sensibility does not diminish my satisfaction. I write to solve other peopleâââs problems. They need specific ideas shared with particular audiences, and I can oblige. That type of writing is a means to an end, and I usually enjoy it. When I donââât, I am comforted by the fact that the work pays my bills.

Photography, though, is pure joy for me. I do not want to turn it into work, and I do not want to worry about the marketplace. Those reasons helped me make a decisionâââthe photography show will go on without me.