Curiosity and production.

That’s something I was thinking about yesterday.

I went home and did this deep dive into curiosity because I was trying to figure out why the hell I’m so curious all the time.

And that got me thinking about street photography.

For me, curiosity is probably the main driver behind why I do this.

I want to know what’s around the corner.

I want to know what’s down that alley.

I want to know what that thing is.

Look at this little paint on the tires.

That’s basically how my brain works.

I WANT TO KNOW WHAT’S OVER THERE

When I started thinking about my life, I realized this goes way back.

I’ve basically always been like this.

I grew up for a while in rural Indiana on 21 acres.

There was a creek running through the property that seemed huge to me as a kid.

During the summer, I would walk up and down that creek constantly.

I was always exploring.

Always on some little adventure.

I didn’t think of it as curiosity at the time.

I was just going somewhere because I wanted to know what was there.

And I never really stopped doing that.

CURIOSITY FOLLOWED ME EVERYWHERE

Years later, when I was in the military, I was mobilized for Hurricane Katrina.

I remember taking a disposable camera with me and photographing some of what I saw.

Then I deployed to Iraq.

During a short break in Qatar, I remember seeing actual green grass after spending months surrounded by desert.

Just a little patch of grass.

I walked on it barefoot.

It felt amazing.

But again, I wanted to explore.

I wanted to see what was beyond wherever I was supposed to be.

That’s always been my personality.

I want to roam around.

I want to see what’s there.

EVEN MY JOB BECAME EXPLORATION

Later I worked in property management in Cincinnati.

One of my jobs was inspecting apartments when residents moved out.

As soon as somebody turned in their keys, I’d go inside and assess the apartment.

Some of these places were nasty.

Roaches.

Bed bugs.

All kinds of stuff.

But strangely enough, I loved doing those inspections.

Why?

Because I didn’t know what I was going to find when I opened the door.

Every apartment was different.

Looking back at it now, that was curiosity too.

WHAT PHOTOGRAPHY CHANGED

So I’ve always had this curiosity.

But photography changed something.

Photography gave the curiosity somewhere to go.

That’s the part I’ve only recently started understanding.

Before photography, I could explore something because I wanted to see it.

Then it was over.

Now I can explore something, discover it, photograph it, bring that photograph home, edit it, put it into a magazine, and make something from the experience.

This little rectangular box lets me harness all that curiosity and produce something with it.

And that’s incredibly satisfying.

THE CURIOSITY AND PRODUCTION LOOP

That’s the loop I’m in now.

I’m curious.

So I go outside.

I walk.

I look around.

I find something.

I photograph it.

Then I come home and produce something from those photographs.

And the next day I’m curious again.

So I go back outside.

Curiosity.

Photography.

Production.

Curiosity.

Photography.

Production.

Over and over again.

And honestly, I love it.

I DON’T NEED TO GO FAR

The interesting thing is that the more I’ve photographed, the less I feel like I need some huge adventure to satisfy that curiosity.

I don’t necessarily need to fly across the world.

I don’t even need to leave Santa Monica.

I could probably walk this one city block every day for the rest of my life and make different photographs every single time.

That’s what street photography has done for me.

It has increased the resolution of my curiosity.

A whole city used to be something to explore.

Now a block is enough.

Sometimes an alley is enough.

Sometimes a fence is enough.

Sometimes it’s paint on a tire.

The smaller things become interesting.

THE CAMERA GIVES CURIOSITY A PURPOSE

That’s probably why I’m more curious now than I’ve ever been.

Photography rewards curiosity.

Every time I wonder what’s around the corner, there could be a photograph there.

Every time something catches my attention, I can investigate it.

Every walk becomes an exploration.

And every exploration has the possibility of becoming something.

A photograph.

A sequence.

A magazine.

A video.

An idea.

Something.

That’s the difference.

I don’t just consume whatever I find.

I can produce something from it.

KEEP LOOKING

I used to wonder why I couldn’t just sit around somewhere and relax.

Why do I always want to walk around?

Why do I always want to see what’s over there?

Why can’t I just leave things alone?

Now I don’t really worry about it.

That’s just how my brain works.

And photography gives that part of me somewhere productive to go.

I can take all that curiosity and point it at the world.

Then I’ve got this little box in my hand that lets me bring something back.

That’s a pretty good combination.

Stay curious.

Go outside.

Look around.

Make something.