Pictures of Bugs On Flowers

At the art school where I work, we have photography classes.  The photography teacher is a pretty laid back guy, but there are some rules one had best not break.  Topping that list is: No pictures of bugs on flowers.

Why is it so terrible to take pictures of flowers?  I was walking down the street today and saw a lovely bunch of flowers I would have loved to take a of.  But that is the problem right there.  I am taking that picture because seeing it made me feel good.  I am taking a picture as a record, to remind me of something I saw earlier and how it made me feel when I saw it.  To show it to others is meaningless.

Flowers are pretty, but they are extremely common.  As a form of art, they have little to say.  Whatever power they have, it is marginalized by the sheer quantity of pictures of flowers out there.  Everybody thinks they're special.

But if flowers are dull, a picture of a flower with a bug in it must be extraordinary.  Nope.  Again, everybody seems to have this thought.  Sadly, there are a lot of flowers and a lot of bugs, so seeing a bug on a flower isn't that exceptional.  If you compare it to the number of times you see flowers without bugs, or the number of bugs you see not on flowers, then yes, it is quite special, but again, it has little to say, especially considering how many times it has already been said.

This translates perfectly with writing.  Writing a story about a rough breakup, facing a fear, or dealing with death all sound like great subjects to write about.  They are inherently powerful and universally understandable.  But the problem with them is their very universality.  People have already experienced these things.  Countless others have already written about these things.  Artistically, philosophically, there is little left to be said on the subject.

This is not to say that nobody will like it.  Inherently powerful subjects always garner a certain amount of fans.  Even if it is not new, it still has some power.  But if you are trying to impress somebody who is a little more jaded, it will become much harder.  I find myself like this as a critic.  Every story I read from college students was the same damn story.  When I visited my professor and sat in on one of his classes, I read the writing of some of his students and could not read it through for the simple fact that I had already read that story dozens of times already in one form or another.

When I talk about writing for yourself versus writing for others, this is a perfect example.  Whether you are writing about the death of a family member, or taking a picture of a bug on a flower, it is significant to you; it affects you because it reminds you of something you have personally lived through.  But it means little to others.  They do not have that personal connection.  And if all your story has is a personal connection, then it is writing for yourself.  Writing for others may have a personal connection to you, but it has more to it than that.

Take pictures of flowers when you know they mean something to you.  Take a picture of a flower with a bug on it when it blows you away.  But realize that there is a reason why it may not get the praise you think it deserves (and it isn't personal).  Somethings should be shared and some should be kept in the private collection.  That's all there is to it.