Lately, I have been thinking of when I first started taking pictures. It used to be for the joy and fun of random shots; the art spontaneity. Now, my photos are all well thought-out with concepts, makeup artists and talented models. I understand the photography business, but I feel that I have faltered from my roots. There is a quote that has always stuck to me and has played an important role behind my photography. The wonderful quote by Richard Avedon,

“To be an artist - to be a photographer - you have to nurture the things that other people discard. You have to keep them alive.”

I think I have lost touch with what I used to represent. The political and social issues are still there but the means to capture and show those issues through my photography are not. Yes, my photos have concepts when I have something to say. My pictures are even planned to the point where I would take hundreds of photos to get it just right, but now that planning has lost all meaning and the photos, for the lack of a better word, are just plain photos. I am slowly going back into the process of implementing more meaning and thought into my photos.

Modern Day Anti hero Photography
Ryan Noel Panizares