Banalities

So, inspiration for this post comes from another blog I’ve been following for a while (Peter Poete Photography). It was about banalities—the everyday, boring stuff we all photograph. And honestly? That hit me hard, because when I look through my catalog, I’m basically 100% guilty. Sure, I’ve got a few “serious” shots, but most of my work is just random snaps. Tables, cars, corners of streets. Stuff that nobody really asked for—but that’s exactly what I love about it.

Photography, for me, isn’t a career move or some dopamine-fueled hustle. I could make $0 from it and still be perfectly happy. Okay, I do sell the odd image here and there, but I’d still pick up the camera regardless. The joy is in the looking, not the paycheck.

I’m not big on “projects.” People say projects help your creativity, and maybe that’s true. But I hate boxing myself in. For me, the point of taking a camera out is to let things unfold. Sometimes I end up with a family photo, sometimes I spend ten minutes circling a random detail on the street while my wife and kids wander off (and stop waiting for me, understandably). That’s fine. That’s the deal.

What’s funny is when people ask if I get bored traveling alone with just my camera. Honestly? Those are my calmest, happiest moments. Just me, the camera, and whatever banal detail decides to appear. Doesn’t matter which camera—it’s the act that counts.

And here’s the kicker: my best-selling photo ever wasn’t a dramatic landscape or carefully lit portrait. Nope. It was a random restaurant table in Amsterdam. Shot it without thinking, cropped so you couldn’t recognize the place (stock photo hack), uploaded it—and that one picture not only paid for the Amsterdam trip, but like five more after that. Still sells today. Banalities pay, apparently.

That also reminded me how unpredictable photography is. The photo you think will be a hit usually flops. The one you almost delete? That’s the moneymaker.

But banalities aren’t just about money. They made me think about what we keep and how we look at it later. Like on our Legoland trip recently, I shot tons of videos—and ended up enjoying those more than the photos. Which is weird for me. And then I realized: I rarely revisit my (digital) galleries. That feels sad, but maybe it’s just the way photography works now—we shoot endlessly, store everything in the cloud, and barely look back. Limitless memory means limitless clutter.

So what’s the point of this post? Honestly, no idea. Should you photograph banalities? Yes. Should you ask for permission to photograph your banana peel? Probably not. Do whatever you want. It’s your life, your camera, your time. If you enjoy it, that’s reason enough.

See you around.