The name of the blog is Developing a Photographer. Why?

It will be about my personal development and transformation through photography, and I liked the similarity of the name with a photographic process. In the times of analog film and even now in the digital era, developing a photograph is the process of converting an image taken by the camera to a final format. It is the part of the process where you fully realize your visual idea, and a snapshot becomes a work of art.

I guess there is a similarity between photography and life. Many think a photographer’s work finishes when he presses the shutter button. Some even believe the entire creative work takes only a few seconds and that success only depends on luck, some skills, and the equipment at hand. But, like in life, the road to success is different. It starts with an idea, followed by planning, then a lot of work and perseverance before you can press that shutter in the right place and at the right time. And even then it isn’t finished. A camera is just a technical system to record light. As good as they are, cameras have limitations, and are not you. You must follow with the development process and realize your initial idea in the final photograph.

It is precisely the same with success in anything – there is no single moment in which it all happens. The road to success is almost always long and winding. It takes time and effort to develop a photograph, and it is the same with a photographer.

But that’s not the only thing that this is about.

I am writing this article primarily for the people who know me well. And they know me by a different name. So, why Antonio?

Antonio is my middle name or, more precisely, my baptismal name. Few people outside my immediate family know it, and even fewer use it. Only my mother would use it a bit more, especially when I was younger, and probably because of that, it always had a special meaning for me.

My relationship with photography and my appreciation for visual arts is similar. It has always been there but rarely visible to others. I liked them but would hesitate to call myself Antonio or a photographer. But this is changing now.

With this website, I’m admitting, to myself and the world, to be serious about photography. I am stepping out into the world of photography, aspiring to be worthy of comparison with the greats. And, I’m making my “hidden” name a symbol for this change and a part of my identity.

Exciting times are ahead.

Signed: Antonio Tesija, a photographer