Reaction to Abstract: Platon

I really loved this episode of Abstract. The notion that photography isn’t about the photographer or the set design or the color, but rather the contents of the photo itself and the story it shares with the world is incredibly cool. Platon seemed to be an incredibly forward-thinking, intellectual artist, whose focus was always on the story of the photograph.

I dabble a bit in photography, and this episode seemed to really be calling me out. I feel like my journey has been focused on the gear, the lighting, the composition, the colors, the expensive gear, etc., and not on the big picture. As Platon described himself as not being a photographer, I was caught in my tracks, because this episode was supposed to be about photography. I was incredibly taken back by the way he described photography as its own unique art form and about how a photograph has to give off an emotion or feeling that a viewer can take in on their own and find meaning in it.

I loved how it didn’t matter if the subject was the POTUS, an activist, a sexual assault survivor (that bit of the episode was incredibly moving, I must say) — if there was a story to tell through the individual Platon was right there in front of the subject staring down his long lens, waiting for the perfect moment to press the shutter button. I also really enjoyed how Platon discussed his dyslexia. He essentially said that growing up, for things to make sense to him, he had to put them in their most simplest form, and that’s where his photography style came from. “If it’s not important in the image, it shouldn’t appear in the image.”

Overall, this was a really cool and inspiring episode of Abstract, that again, felt completely different from all of the others.