Earlier this month I travelled to Philadelphia for a meeting, having arrived early I had some time to wander a little and found myself in a used bookstore in which I have made some great finds in in the past. This time was no exception. I bought four books on photography, one as a gift for someone, one for my display cabinet in my gallery and the other two for my library.
It was in one of the latter that I came across the words, spoken by Elliott Erwitt, "I'll always be an amateur photographer" and I was struck by them in part, I think, because we, professional photographers, may all too often forget that amateur does not always mean someone lacking in skill, competance or experience.
If we remember that amare, the latin verb to love, is the root of the term amateur it is easier to understand that there is more to shooting professionally than simply having the, very necessary, skills, competance and experience and declaring on one's website how full of passion we are about photography.
Like Erwitt I do separate my professional work from my personal work and I'll always be an amateur.
