Why I have not chosen photography as my preferred medium for artistic expression.

I recently found the exact words to describe my personal distaste for photography as an art form.

I have not chosen photography as my preferred medium because it requires a mechanical apparatus to stand between the artist and his creation.

I feel that in the process of taking a picture, it is not -me- who does the work, it is the device. I may compose the shot, find the subject matter, and adjust certain settings... but it is ultimately the camera which captures the image. In any other medium I compose, I find the subject matter, and I capture the image myself. All processes are dependant on my actions, none are automatic.

I use photography mostly for utilitarian purposes, such as the documenting and recording of things, the commemorating of events. I do appreciate artistic photography, greatly, and I do see its value. However, as a medium it does not give me the feeling that I have created something. I'd rather photograph something as a reference for a painting; the mere photograph does not feel like a finished product.

I'm just more visceral than that, I guess.