Do I Have to Draw You a Picture?

Camel Lot, Xiang Sha Wan

Some people can remember names, some people faces, some people remember conversations. I remember photographs, pictures, people’s faces and other visual things. My first try at writing something usually starts with some pictures and doodles and a few words. A picture takes shape on the paper and in my mind. Then I convert the visual idea to words. That’s just the way I am. I don’t know if it’s the visual learner in me or because of my engineering training. I would bet that most photographers have very good visual memories because that’s the way we are. We choose to communicate in pictures or photographs and for us that is the easiest way to learn, remember and communicate.

If you are a photographer, you are concerned with visual communication. Since communication is a two way process, it stands to reason that photographers learn and think visually. That’s why I think it’s so darned difficult to write about photographs. How do you take a concept that exists as a picture and try to elicit the same response using words? There are people that can do that. They are called authors. They use words to create their pictures and make you feel a certain way about a situation. The more I write, the more I respect the writer’s craft and those folks that can do it successfully.