Art = Expression
I recently attended a course on travel photography. It made me realize one thing. That art is not just about painting and sculptures. Art is an expression of oneself. Sounds cheem? I think not.
My view is that Art is very personal. It is ones expression of what they have seen and felt. Data taken in from all their 5 senses, and expressed into one object. Be it a painting, a sculpture, or in this case, a photograph. It tells a story.
I use to dislike the idea that every photograph MUST have a story. I felt as long as it looks nice, that would be good enough. However, now I appreciate that, a picture can be more than just for aesthetic, it can paint a thousand words. It can express a feeling.. even a novel might not be able to bring across.
If art teaches us one thing, it might be to learn to better appreciate the finer details in life.
For example, color (or the lack of it) brings another dimension to a picture and its story. Sometimes, too many colors will distract the viewer from the focus. But if used wisely, one simple color can tell a lot more words than can. Just like the movie HERO by Zhang Yimou. I love it because of the colors. It tells the background and feeling of each character in the story. It was brilliant!
Pick up a paintbrush, take a photo, express a part of yourself into a piece of art, and leave it as your legacy in this world.