PHOTOGRAPHER STEVE PIACENTE
Here’s an interesting stat: More than 1.8 trillion photos are taken a year worldwide.
But what is a photograph? Is it a smartphone shot of dessert? A selfie at the beach? One shot after another of the same dog lying on the same couch? To me, a real photo is a moment of stark beauty that no one can alter or take away.
In 2024, I took my love of photography from hobby to business.
If you’re wondering what’s so special, here’s my take: The camera freezes a moment better than the brain, making a photo more reliable than a memory. Call up the photo in five years and it will look the same – crisp and true as the moment it was taken.
Time frays the edges of a memory, swapping accuracy for nostalgia. Or convenience. Or to align with some new set of beliefs. The brain is bound by a law that decrees change as life’s one constant. The camera is unfettered in this way. It simply records the instant. No confusing emotions rise in that instant – or ever – that might cloud the image.
That is the philosophy behind my images. Much has changed since I came along way back in 1954, when Eisenhower was president, no one beat the Yankees, and Elvis was still an unknown. As I’ve gone through life as a journalist, author, speechwriter, professor, and communications consultant, my camera was – and is – always by my side.
Browse Steve’s photography at https://piacentephotos.com/
Check out Steve’s podcast & editorial features on:
– BlendRadioandTV.com
– NationalParkTraveling.com
