Always Carry a Camera – Forrest Anderson’s Photo Blog
Always Carry a Camera
Posted by Forrest Anderson | 
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There are many important principles associated with photography but the number one principle is: Always carry a camera. People have witnessed the most amazing things in life, but only a fraction of them are recorded at all and many of them are recorded poorly. This is about step number one.
Photograph from the Library of Congress showing photographer William Henry Jackson's assistants - the man and the mule - in about 1873 probably in the Colorado Rockies. Always carrying a camera has not always been as easy as it is now, but the discipline is the same.
When I began taking pictures in my teens it was something that I did in my "spare" time or photo time when I was truly interested in taking pictures. However, after several years of amateur experience and finally meeting a real journalist I discovered that there was a lot to photograph and much of it happened spontaneously. True, there are planned events and staged events but by their very nature they were limited both in scope and visual appeal. Indeed it was Real Life as it unfolded that captured my interest and my eye. Once I learned about the potential I began to carry a camera everywhere.
You should have seen what I saw!
We have all seen some amazing things in life, some of them horrific, others amusing and some just garden-variety interesting. Yet, telling people about what you have seen just doesn't quite equate with a well-composed photograph of it. While 19th century photographer William Henry Jackson saw some amazing things, imagine if he had kept the experience to himself or simply tried to describe what he saw, but it was his photography that said so much.
I have had my share of missed photographs - some of them even with a camera around my neck, but I find that the more frequently I take a camera with me and have it ready to use, the more frequently I come back with pictures that do the talking for me.
This photo blog will share some of the more meaningful images that I have made over the years and will continue to make as I carry my camera with me.