In Defense of the Genre

When it comes to photography genres there can be a lot of overlap, and no small amount of confusion. One of my images could easily fit into aerial, landscape and travel photography, all at once. When is a photograph street photography, and when it is it a cityscape? At the very least, it is open to individual interpretation. Regardless of the media, whether film, photography, or music, the best content tends not to fit so squarely in one camp or another – sometimes it can even create and inhabit a new genre all its own. That is a lofty goal worth striving for. While it does feel a little bit arbitrary dividing up a portfolio into genres, I think it gives viewers a starting point and easier access to the kind of pictures that they want to see and perhaps create themselves. While I don’t think of my work in terms of genres, I hope they’re helpful in finding something that speaks to you.