Why Photography is Important to an Artist

Some people have asked why I put a bunch of personal pictures on my blog when it's an art blog.  Well, I'm really working on practicing my photography.  I'm gonna need some good shots soon for some art I'm doing & want to know how best to use the little equipment I have.  So as an example, I took a picture of a candle using flash here:

 
And then I took a picture of the same candle at the same time using natural lighting.  Here's that picture:  

So you can see what different effects you can get just by the lighting you use.  I have ALOT to learn!