On Photography

I thumbed through a copy of Susan Sontag's "On Photography" today while on my rounds. Although this is considered a seminal work by many photographers - so much so that it is now printed in the Penguin Classics range - I have to say that the few pages I read seemed impenetrable and pretentious.

For someone who "writes" a photography-based blog, I don't much like reading about photography. I don't consider myself an "artist" and I'm not much interested in postulating about this theory or that one. I'm quite a simple creature in my tastes. I approach every photograph with one simple question: "Do I like it?" If I do, then I wonder why - and I try to appreciate the photographer's skill and composition.

Photography is about two things for me: Entertainment or Information. If a photograph is neither of these, then I move on. I'm entertained by skilful landscapes, action-packed sports shots, clever compositions and a myriad other things. What I am categorically *not* entertained by is 400-odd pages of pretentious artistic waffle.