Who Are Your Photos For?

And where do they get their meaning?

Trying to stand out on an Instagram feed where images have lifecycles measured in seconds. AI anxiety. Keeping up with the latest trend.

Photography can be exhausting.

My Instagram account never really took off. And I’m not surprised. I’m not that kind of photographer. Frequent posts, stories, reels….. The feed flies by on small screens as fast as someone can scroll.

So who are my photos actually for? My best photos, my “meh” photos, all of them- where does their value come from?

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Recalling the past.

I recently took some photos of an old feed mill in town. As a kid, I used to hear the mill, watch trucks backing in to be loaded, and see the owner going about the business of running the place.

Remains of a mill

That was somewhere around 45 years ago. I don’t have any photos from back then in my own archive. I do have photos from today, which are a stark contrast to the working business I remember, as the old building has been claimed by time and the elements.

As someone with Aphantasia, I find that a digital scrapbook gains value over time.

Solitude and personal recharge time.

I sometimes get up early in the morning before anyone else rises. I started doing it for the light. But I found something I had forgotten. Early morning quiet is the best kind of quiet. And being alone in it with my camera has a way of restoring something the everyday routine slowly drains.

I don’t do it just for the light now. Some mornings I take my camera out even in the rain, just to see what I can find. Sometimes it results in photos. But I can always find that quiet.

Community, coming together.

Memorial Day is a community event where I live. Parades, speeches, picnics, all part of the ritual. All part of remembering people no longer here.

I took a series of photos this year of the in-between moments at our fire station as we waited for the start of the next parade we were scheduled to attend.

Between parades

This is the behind-the-scenes part. A part of the community, and also an extended family that not everyone sees.

Family moments.

On a family trip last fall, I captured a moment when our young rescue dog decided to stay by our luggage. She couldn’t watch my wife and me both at the same time, so this was her way of making sure nobody left without her.

Moments like this can be lost to time. Those small, in-between moments that make you smile can be held onto with photos.

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Maybe it’s less about who the photos are for. They weren’t made because I was seeking likes. They started out as moments that made me stop and look. Nothing more.

✅ Where to Find Me

You can find more of my work on the web at: Simmons Photography

If you want to work with me, or inquire about licensing images: Contact Page

More of my work can be seen on Vero and Flickr.