I have the opportunity to be included in a great photo community on that platform which used to be named Twitter. I've yapped with some exceptional photographers who are creating truly epic portraits, wedding shots, live music photos, street & urban imagery, and more.
One of the topics that was came up was "mundane" photography. What is that? Can images like this be captured on purpose? I'm sure it's hard for some people and it might come easier to others. For me, I thrive on this type of imagery and I craft so much of my photography in the mundane arena.
An explanation of "mundane".
mundane /ˌmʌnˈdeɪn/ adjective
lacking interest or excitement; dull.
All this is mundane stuff is purely subjective. What I think is interesting, another person might think is a waste of space. Throughout my time behind the lens, I haven't thought about my "style" too much. I like to shoot moments on the street that might not show something "loud" or "obnoxious", but scenes that might be boring.
Every time I set out to shoot, I look in the corners, on the walls, up the street, down the alley, and where I can find interesting light. Let's face it, stairs, trash, and random urban sightrs might be boring to many people, but to me they're interesting.
I want to get out and find excitement, but what is that? What's exciting to you when you're out exploring your big city or small town? Maybe small towns are filled with the "mundane". That's up to you to classify those scenes and moments as such. Tokyo is freakin' huge and I like knowing that I can find crazy things happening (ohhh they do), but I'm very much into finding that grime, the grit, the grease, the garbage, and whatever else might turn into a weird story I have in my head.
If you're having a problem finding "boring" or "uninteresting", I suggest shooting in black & white. I go back and forth with shooting film and digital for many reasons, but the monochrome really helps me see things differently. This is my project for you. Set your sights on the textures, contrasts, and shapes, because I have a feeling you'll find some pretty interesting mundane images when shooting with a greyscale mentality. Go get your mundane on.
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