What is the Value of a Photograph

Photography is more than just an art form—it’s a way of seeing, capturing, and sharing the world from a unique perspective. For a photographer, each photograph can hold deep significance that extends beyond the image itself. It may be a story, a memory, an emotion, or even a piece of their identity.

Looking towards the Isle of Mull

This article isn’t meant to be a navel-gazing exercise, where I seek to justify flooding your social media feed with mediocre to poor photos, but rather to explain what photographic images mean to me, and to share a little of why I do it.

Let me begin by clarifying that I am not a professional photographer. I have no desire to become one, and I have the utmost respect for those who choose this profession—it seems a very challenging way to earn a living. I enjoy discussing photography, of course, but not in conversations that are competitive or unnecessarily critical of others.

Capturing moments in time and telling stories is certainly important, though it can be subjective and, in a world increasingly determined to rewrite history, sometimes subject to censorship.

A inshore Loch on the Isle of Islay

I began reflecting on this topic when I looked back at some images I took during my first photography trip. It was with my first camera, which wasn’t much of a camera at all. It was a basic digital camera—the least capable one I’ve ever owned. The images I captured back then are not up to the standard of what I take now (hopefully, you'll agree that I’ve improved as a photographer, though not yet reaching excellence). However, those early images, taken on the Isle of Islay, hold more value to me than many of the photos I’ve captured since. All the images in this document are from that trip , although I have recently re-edited them.

The Paps of Jura 

At the time, I had just retired from a job that, even now, sometimes haunts my sleep. After 32 years of intense pressure, my nervous system had come to accept stress as the norm. However shortly after retiring, my heart began to play up, and surgery was required. It became clear that the next chapter of my life needed adjustment.

"Get fit and find a hobby," I was advised. I embraced both aspects of this advice, which led me to step off a ferry on a Scottish island with an average but adequate camera in hand and very little idea of how to use it. It was a new chapter in life . The scenery was breathtaking, and I was in a place I’d longed to visit. It was there that I discovered something new about photography: it slowed my mind, calmed my inner turmoil, and brought me peace. It has been that way ever since. Pressing the shutter did not just provide a photographic record but imprinted the moment in my mind ensuring it can’t be forgotten.

The Ferry to the Isle of Jura

So, while these early pictures may not be my best, they will always be among my most valuable. I no longer measure things in monetary or meritocratic terms—although I do strive to improve on my journey—but by the memories they represent, which is how I now measure value.

Feolin Ferry

I beg your forgiveness as I continue to fill your social media feeds with mediocre images. To me, they are the most valuable, and I share them with heartfelt affection for the memories they hold.

The Paps of Jura