designated driver ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone - processed on desktop
For some reason, which I can't really explain other than that I think of myself as a unique individual, I have always shunned the moniker photographer. For my professional career, I labeled myself as a commercial photographer but when I undertook the making of photographs, aka: pictures (my preferred word), in the making of "art", I didn't like to be labeled as a photographer. And, to be honest, I also did not like the idea of making "art".
My preference in my current picture making activities is to be labeled as a picture maker who makes pictures (not photographs).
Part of my reasoning for wanting to be known as a picture maker is that the label photographer conjures up, iMo, to many stereotypes, especially, but not limited to, the one that implies the concept of gearhead. Ditto for the word photographs because I make pictures, not photographs.
I also eschew the notion that I am making art, especially so that I am making fine art. I make pictures and whether or not they are art/fine art is not for me to decide. I leave that exclusively to the viewers of my pictures to decide.
So I guess what I am trying to convey with my various nomenclatures is a total lack of pretense regarding my picture making activities. However, I must admit, that is not to write that I hope I am making art/fine art-defined as, creative art, especially visual art whose products are to be appreciated primarily or solely for their imaginative, aesthetic, or intellectual content.
But, as I mentioned, whether or not I have accomplished that is not for me to judge.