To see and preserve the moment nobody else sees, and to let everybody else see it too

To me, there are three types of photography, two of which can be considered art. The first type, which is not art, is that which has no thought attributed to its meaning – it is a simple aim and press the shutter affair. Of the types which have artistic merit, one portrays idealism; the other portrays reality. Idealistic photography may or may not have the scene altered by lighting, backgrounds, after-editing, etc; what all idealistic photography does is portray the scene as we romanticise it to be. It requires some mental ability to be able to think about a setting and decide what it should be, in an ideal world. In that sense, idealistic photography – and every other sort of photography – is also expressing the feelings and opinions of the photographer. The most interesting sort of photography is the sort that portrays the dirty reality of the world. These photos may also be altered, but they are altered in such a way as to enhance what was originally found, and not add or subtract to it. These photographs not just rely on their sense of timing to capture the moment, but also their understanding of their subject to also capture the mood, the feeling, and the essence of being there. They know how to use their equipment to achieve exactly what they want. They know how subtle change in subject arrangement or composition changes the meaning of the photograph. They know how to use black and white, how to isolate subjects, even in busy backgrounds. These people see the world, and capture it in a way that most people do not even stop to notice. Without them, there would be precious little record of being there. Photographers who were masters of this art include of course Henri Cartier-Bresson; Robert Capa (both founders of the Magnum agency); and more recently, people like Alex Majoli who use the new properties of digital equipment to further enhance their images. But still people ask, is photography really art? Undoubtedly it requires technical skill. Art i [...]