A photographer is nothing more than a person with a camera who decides he's going go do photography in some capacity, then goes about doing it.

He may seek training. He will certainly gain proficiency along the way. He may even pick up degrees in photography (in a college program or through Professional Photographers of America).

But what makes any person a photographer -- in his own mind -- is his thinking that he is and his dedication to his craft. What makes him a photographer in the minds of others involves something else: their acceptance of what he thinks of himself, their acceptance of him as a photographer.

The greats in photography did not attend workshops, pursue degrees in photography, or even read very much on the subject of picture taking. The degrees and workshops did not exist, and the "subject" of picture taking was something they were creating. They were photographers. They weren't wanna-be's!

By saying this, I don't mean to imply that there isn't a base of knowledge every photographer needs to know. And it's certainly better and easier to learn what we can from others and build on that, than it is to discover everything on our own... that is, if we ever hope to surpass or even equal those who've gone before us. Life's just to short to do otherwise!

But all the second-hand knowledge in the world never made anyone anything; only the application of that knowledge by the person who knew for himself that he was a photographer, or anything else, for that matter!

Larry Stepanowicz