As a way to get something off my chest.
I thought a lot about writing this post. And it isn't in a light mood that I do it, but there are things that, although deserving zero of my attention, are so often repeated that we can't pass them by as lightly as we would like
Here at Terra we are photography 24/7. We dedicate ourselves to this as if it was our most precious possession that requires all our affection and commitment.
But it's not just taking pictures. It is giving up on many other things including family and friends (yes, true story!) to grow and try to be better every day. It is to turn the pictures into much more than just that, into the happy moments, the emotions, the tears, the smiles. The best memories you can keep. And that they may be, when our photography is brands or services related, a good way to show the affection, dedication and commitment that they put in what they do. We do not just want to document, we want to stop the traffic, be part of your team and show it to the world. They stop being our photos, they become your products or your services, in the best way that we can tell!
So many hours behind the lenses and so many other by the computer, to make it special.
And it's difficult to accept that content pages as popular as they want to make you believe they are, step over all this to reach their highest purpose, publish content. It doesn't matter what kind, even less if the information they provide is true or not or if they simply misrepresent it to make it look beautiful. It's just important to publish, to show work done, to manage the information that comes to them for free, the result of the hard work of so many others and to make of it what they want, as they want and without caring about anyone else.
We have already been published in so many places. Damn, and this is not just bragging, but national and international newspapers and magazines, we have photographs published in a book in Australia, in a newspaper in Beijing, in a book in Germany... images that cease to be ours and become a bit of all of those who see them. But all this has been done in a system of mutual respect. Because there's nothing we could aspire more than to see our images gaining wings.
But from the pride of seeing our work published out there, to the use of it without a purpose and in total disrespect for what has concretely been shared, there is a distance that we can't cross with small steps.
And we are the first ones to flag every publication that shares our work! We are the first ones to republish everywhere what someone has published from us.
We are the first ones to be part of the brands we photograph, although we may seem to take parties and even if that invalidates the possibility to work with others.
Why are we like this? I don't know!
Maybe it's because I think I can go somewhere alone but together we can go further.
That I can lose everything, but never the dignity or respect. I want every person that passes by me to stay, that every brand I photograph know that I do it with all my heart and respect for their work and that I want for them the best!
That it is better to sin because of an open mind than to have a tiny narrow one.
In the end, I think that this is what really freaks me out, it's the small thinking from a pedestal of superiority where they put themselves. May they never shatter in proportion to how much they don't give a care about others. Brands, suppliers and the hearts that beat behind all them.
As a way to get something off my chest.
(The cute cake top of the image is from Invite - Momentos Felizes.
And oh, here I am again giving visibility to a brand on my page without gaining anything from it!)
