Déjà Vu

I've seen many photographs taken from The Embarcadero in San Francisco looking over the remains of this old pier towards the Bay Bridge. A lot of photographers have spent a lot of time taking this shot. But this is the first time I've taken this shot. Maybe it will inspire someone else to take this shot . Maybe this shot is just for me. Either way this photograph is my way of connecting to the memories and emotional attachments I feel toward a city that can offer such a serene and peaceful view in one direction yet literally over my shoulder offer the tremendous living pulse of 17,867 people per square mile moving through their day.

As an artist living in the year 2015, I find it a real struggle to create something original. The earliest paintings found on cave walls and ceilings are thought to be around 40,000 years old. There is no way of knowing how many artists have lived between 40,000 years ago and today. Many of those artists were very prolific. Being a photographer adds another aspect to the argument of what is original. Many would argue that anyone with a camera could stand in the same place as I have, hold a camera, push a button, and come out with the exact same photograph as I have.

But as an artist do I need to be completely original? Sometimes the images I create may look to many to be the same as other photographers' images. I've even come across an image on the internet of a popular subject in a popular location and had to look very closely to determine whether it was in fact mine or not. I have to accept that I'm not the only human being with a camera trying to create art. Most, if not all, humans at some point in their life attempt to create art. My desire to create art comes from a desire to connect with other humans. So why should I not want my art to look like someone else's?

Furthermore, what is original? Seeing as nobody has yet experienced the day ahead, who is to say it is impossible to create something totally original in the day ahead of me? And even though countless artists before me may have created a particular piece depicting a scene in the world, real or imagined, when I create a piece of art, it is the first time I have created it. It is new to me. It is my way of connecting to the world around me and the artists who have gone before me. With 40,000 years of collective art experience to be inspired by, who is to say I can't come up with something original? After all, the future has never been done before.