Most photographers try to improve their work by with new gear, tricks & hacks or classes on composition and the technical subjects of exposure and editing. That’s growth by acquisition. It’s easy because it’s tangible, kind of “plug & play.” Someone or some thing does the work; the photographer gets credit after they’s worn our their debit card.

Their concetration gets centered around capturing a decisive moment, that perfect millisecond when a bird artfully displays their wings or a football right before it lands in the hands of the receiver. I find absolutely no fault in this application. But here’s the gristle in the gravy…

Viewers only need to see it once or twice. The image is impactful but only once or twice. It’s easy to remember so there’s little or no need to see it again. There’s only one story that gets told and it’s a story that’s easy to grasp and leaves little or no room for different interpretations.

There are expections. “Moonrise Hernanadez New Mexico” or “Saigon Execution” are two vastly different contrary examples to my point. Although each has only one story, they are viewed repeatedly and prints can be found on eBay.

These are perfect examples of “taking pictures.” But when a photographer “makes a photograph” an image is created that’s open to interpretation, gets studied, talked about, reviewed, critiqued and revisted.

Learning how to become a better reader makes you a better writer. Better writing means better stories. Better stories create better memories.