‘Droplets’ of thought on photography.
I have no formal education in art or photography. That is why I always say I am being a photographer rather than being a photographer [by trade].
Today, I simply wanted to share one of the many things photography has taught me over the long years it has been my companion and healer: all a photographer could ever want is for some of those who appreciate their work—at least a few—to feel the same emotion, with the same intensity (or something akin to it in both respects), that the photographer felt while creating it.
I wouldn’t call this a “generous gift” from photography, though, because my own photography is the result of hard, sweaty labor.
I don’t know about yours.
Everyone knows where the shoe pinches.
Image: an overlay of two of my photographs, edited in Snapseed.
Antonio Mozeto 
An amazing scenery.
About your question – i really don’t know who is “more” photographer – one self-taught or the other one after the years of academy studies. I never learned in a “proper” way and never was interested in it. For me photography is a way of life, not something that i add to my name when i introduce myself to strangers. Btw. Here on WordPress my title is name + photographer cos my blog is dedicated only to photography. 😉
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I feel very close to what you describe. I have never been sure whether I am a photographer either. Photography has been part of my life for so long that it became less a profession and more a way of seeing and being in the world. I often say that I never chose photography; photography simply accompanied me through life. Academic training and self-teaching are just different paths. What matters is the relationship we build with the medium over time.
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good said 😉
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