It’s not about me.

It’s not about me. Never has been, and never will.

It’s not about me. I don’t chase likes and follower’s, otherwise I would have quit so long ago. I rarely get anything over 10 likes on anything I post on Instagram. If I ever do, I’m so thrilled and shocked. It’s nice to see but it’s not about that for me. It’s about the image, and by extension, the subject. Beyond that, it’s a reflection of me; a self portrait. It’s how I see the world, my world view. Everything I’ve ever experienced influences when the button gets pressed. I say it’s not about me, and by that, I mean I’m not trying to create great images to become some world-famous photographer. I’m not egotistical. I don’t exist. It’s about the image. It’s about the subject, and more importantly, how I’m moved in that instance, how I react to what I’m truly blessed to witness. So, yes, the image is deeply about me, or it is me. But I don’t do this image creating thing to be famous, or win contests (never joined one ever), or go on a world tour, have a gallery so I can be put on some pedestal. I’m not a talking-head on YouTube, I don’t want this to be about me. But I would love to see my images take on a life of their own, because that’s what they are. They’re a creation of their own. I just happened to be blessed with the encounter, with-it enough to press the button (which is the hardest part), and spent the last 12 years perfecting my ability to have the camera record instantly what I intend. But I truly believe that sometimes the button was not pressed by me, but through me – the reaction. Things happen so fast on the street it couldn’t possibly be a conscious act to press the button. I look at some of my images and I’m shocked that they even exist. How was it possible. I sometimes don’t even recognize the subject, don’t remember seeing them. It was intuition. My subconscious instinct. Peripheral eye. Something clicked. Something from my life’s experience connected to that instance in time, that chance encounter that made me react. And how is it that I do actually encounter these subjects. Are they drawn to me? I know that I am open to them, otherwise I wouldn’t have reacted. It would have been repelled. Similarly, when actually interacting with someone in person. There’s a connection. You feel it. It fills you with joy. Or, sometimes, you’re filled with dread and your life’s blood is siphoned and left pooled on the ground. It physically drains you. It takes you time to recover. It is not like that for the images I’ve created. They were meant to be. There’s love involved, it’s the only way I can explain it. Look at the images. It’s my expression of love. I often well with tears when looking at them, mostly because of the years of learning and mistakes and effort that went into perfecting my craft. And more times than not, I cannot believe they exist. And on top of that, all of the above extends to practising Portraiture Photography. It’s all about the observation of people’s expressions and split-second timing that goes into creating a failed image, or one that is priceless (at least to me). I am always grateful when I see the results. Not for me, for the image, for the subject. It’s difficult to express in words. I’ve tried my best. Perhaps taking the time to look closely at my images, there will be an understanding? But again, this is not about me, never has been, and never will. Thoughts?

P.S. The funny thing is, is that none of this pertains to the final edit, or creating the final piece of art, the images you see on my website. All of this only describes my philosophy towards the magical moment of recording the image. For the creation and editing process of the final work, I will save that for another blog post.

Thank you for being here, and for your time. Mike

Oct. 17, 2025 Michael Gordon White