Rob Domaschuk is back for a guest blog post! Today we have the honor of Rob’s wise words regarding photographic vision, something I know I struggle with as well! If you remember, last September Rob wrote a funny and insightful post about photography and miracles, be sure to revisit his first post here and don’t forget to visit his website as well, www.domaschuk.com!

Hey everyone,
I am back after another swapidy-doo with Angie on blogging duties. She wrote an awesome post on my site, Domaschuk.com on “Finding Your Style”. It’s a follow up on her post from last September. Well, now it’s my turn to write again for her blog. I definitely think I got the better deal but I’ll try to do justice to her great writing.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately. Thinking and struggling with my vision.
Introspection is fine for a photographer and, for those of us who consider ourselves fine art photographers, it’s a pretty critical spiritual exercise for us. The images we shoot are incredibly personal pieces of who we are and I don’t think most people realize what a struggle it can be when we offer it up for the world to see… to evaluate… to judge… It’s an extension of who we are, what we believe, and how we see the world. It’s a public display of artistic intimacy.
And, for me, artistic intimacy is manifested in the school of minimalism.

But it’s funny how I’ve come to understand the complexity involved in remaining simple. I am drawn toward minimalism in my photography and strive to keep my frames devoid of excess and clutter. Strip away that which is unnecessary and there is no place for mistakes to hide. Strip away the clutter and you can see into the artist’s soul. Strip away the noise and we’re left with purity.
I think that’s my biggest complaint with a lot of photography. Too much damn noise and not enough of “self” in photography. That’s why I am attracted to Angie’s work. It’s obvious (at least to me) that her photography is a result of her vision and her understanding of how the world looks.
It’s too rare a commodity in photography today. We need to be who we are and who we are meant to be. That’s the essence of simplicity. The people with whom we share our work deserve no less.
So, who are you meant to be?