Breaking Down the Gatekeeper Mentality in Photography.

I didn’t think my first post would be negative. But scrolling through landscape photographers photos for inspiration on my next outing & happening upon “The 9 best landscape photographers in Phoenix”, an article from Peerspace, has left me sitting in an air of, discouragement, and with a thought writhing in my chest. “Gate keeping sucks.”

Gate keeping is wrong when it comes into play in any medium, and is wholly unnecessary. It gives the impression that we can’t succeed unless we step over other people to get where we’re trying to be. The reason I was so disappointed reading through the article is because like almost every other article I read, or half of photographers websites I visit, the photographers seldom say where the photo was made. I don’t want to make the same photo everyone else is making, I will make it my own. (Though it can be fun to get the “Trophy shot”, like horseshoe bend at sunrise) But inspiration drives us all to venture out and make art.

I won’t gatekeep. The information I’ve learned about photography, photo editing, camera settings, video editing, have come from the good ones who share their knowledge freely. People like Simon d'Entremont, Waqas Qazi, & Alyn Wallace, (whom I’m saddened is gone and am sorry for the tremendous loss his family is feeling, truly he is missed.).

The quality of my work will never be affected by whether or not I tell you where I make a photo, what settings I used, lenses I used, or how I process my image. Knowledge is power, and we have the power to help lift each other up or tear each other down by what we do with that knowledge. But knowledge is not wisdom. I encourage everyone, just starting out or a seasoned pro, to share their knowledge.