The “What, me worry?” Photographer
Rarely does a day go by without someone asking, “What’s your final photo for today?”
I try to answer as kindly as I can. The truth is, I don’t have an answer.
Sometimes I point to a photo I made earlier in the day, though it may well be replaced by something I shoot later.
Sometimes I haven’t yet made any photo that feels worthy of being singled out as the day’s choice.
Most often, though, my answer is simpler: there is no photo in my camera yet that I’d be willing to put my name on as My Final Photo, especially if it were truly the final one. Nothing has yet revealed itself as equal to that weight.
That uncertainty doesn’t bother me much. In that sense, I guess I’m like an Alfred E.. Neuman photographer: What, me worry? I don’t worry that My Final Photo isn’t obvious, isn’t yet in my camera, or hasn’t shown itself. I don’t get rattled by the chaos of the search, or even by those strange moments when everything feels silent and still.
I trust that the photograph will appear. No worry.
Note: The image above is AI-generated from a photo of me, Uptown Westerville, and my personal Alfred E. Neuman For President poster.
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