Photography and Coffee, A Love Story
I like coffee. A lot.
It’s probably one of my biggest obsessions after photography (and lego - but that’s another story). I have about 10 different methods of making coffee, including three different coffee machines. I like all different kinds of coffee, and I’ll make a different type depending on the time of day and my mood.
At this point, you’re probably wondering what any of this has to do with photography, but bear with me. It’s a bit of a journey, but we’ll get there.
You see, if you’re not a coffee obsessive like me, then you should know that coffee is kind of amazing. I used to think it was something that was a nice “pick me up”, or a nice drink, but the more I learned about it, the more I started to appreciate it. The humble little bean can taste vastly different depending on how it’s sourced, ground, roasted and prepared. You can take the exact same beans, and create multiple drinks from those same beans, and depending on how you make them, they will taste very different.
For those on the outside, it may seem that it’s something like those wine snobs, who go on and on about the various “notes” that they can taste in different wines (it kind of is!).
You might be thinking, “I just like my Starbucks”.
I used to be like that too, but once you experience the range and depth you can achieve when coffee is prepared properly, you’ll be blown away. Even my wife, who never used to like coffee that much, has started to appreciate the different kinds of coffee that one can make, even from the exact same packet of coffee beans.
There are so many different types of coffee drinks that you can make. From a latte, to an espresso, to a coffee made using a Moka pot, or a coffee made with a pour over technique. They can all be very different, and there’s different things to like about each of them. I even use a pod machine, in this case one by Nespresso. For some coffee aficionados, this is heresy, but I just see it as yet another, and different way to make coffee. It’s also convenient, and let’s face it, we don’t often have the time to make an elaborate coffee preparation when we’re working.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately when stuck at home during lockdown 3.0, and it got me thinking about how coffee is a lot like photography, especially when it comes to people’s perception of photography.
You see, there are people who only like one type of coffee, and they think their type of coffee is the best, and they don’t think any other type is valid. They’ll drink their favourite brand from their favourite vendor, and they’ll look down their nose at anyone who does anything different. They won’t even try anything else, because in their minds, their way is the only way.
In much the same way, you’ll get photographers who comment online who think that their way of making photographs is the best and the only valid way, and they look down their noses at anyone who does anything different. When you write about photography, and you become reasonably successful, you get these kinds of comments all the time. You see them when you read other blogs and see them in YouTube comments and commentary all the time.
But photography is like coffee. You can have your favourite brand, or favourite method of preparation, but that doesn’t mean that all others are bad. It just means that you have a favourite. There are so many things about photography that can be different. Different brand of camera, shooting with a prime lens or a zoom, shooting raw or jpeg, processing with different applications. None of these are hard absolutes, in the same way as making coffee different ways or using different beans, or different preparation methods are hard absolutes. They’re not a “one way is better than the other” absolute, they are choices that produce different results, and are not necessarily better or worse. And just as you can produce bad coffee if you are bad at preparing it or don’t know what you’re doing, the same goes for photography. You can use the “best” camera or what some might see as the “best” software and still produce bad results.
It never ceases to amaze me at how people can’t grasp this simple fact, that ones choice or one’s preference isn’t a binary absolute. It’s not always right or wrong but is just a choice. When you open your horizons and try different things you come to realise that. It’s ok not to like something too, but because you don’t like it don’t assume it’s wrong.
To this day, I still see people online that say that you have to shoot manual focus or you’re not a real photographer. Or that you have to use manual exposure or your photographs don’t count. Or that street photography isn’t real photography, or that you can’t process your photos or you’re not a real photographer. I even see people insist that if you don’t shoot with film its not valid, or if you don’t do x or y you’re not a real photographer.
To me that’s like saying, if you drink coffee made with a Moka pot you’re not a real coffee aficionado, or if you use a French press or a Chemex you’re not a real coffee drinker. It’s utter bullshit, but you get that with photography all the time. (And you do get that with coffee fans too)
So the next time you see such arguments online, just think of different kinds of coffee and you’ll soon realise how rubbish the arguments are. We should be embracing different choices, not narrowing them. There’s enough variety in the world that we should be enjoying it, not feel threatened by it. Art is like taste, there are preferences, but those preferences are not necessarily right or wrong. There can be bad examples and bad results, but these are often more to do with a lack of skill and experience rather than the method of producing the result. So let’s not fight about brands or processes, and let’s just enjoy the variety the world has to offer.
Now, was I talking about coffee there or photography at the end? I’m not even sure myself!
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