Down in the photography dips

It seems like forever since I talked about photography.

This year I struggled with my photography. I struggled to take photos I liked, to get out and take any photos at all, had things go wrong. I felt like I suddenly forgotten anything I had learned about photography. That I didn’t know how cameras worked at all.

It was disheartening.

It led to some ‘Why bother?’ thinking.

Like the editing on those photos isn’t even good.

Part of the problem this year is anytime I’ve been out with my camera, I’ve been on my way somewhere else. No time to stop and think about what I’m doing. Are the camera settings right? Is the composition or framing good? Just quick snap and rush on.

Even while we were on are vacation it was like that because everywhere was booked up and we couldn’t stay in any one place long enough to enjoy it. (This is one of the reasons I’d love a camper van.)

But even on days that I had the time, like during Lost in the 50’s Classic Car Show, things still didn’t go well. The one Pinsta photo I took was ruined because of developing mistakes.

It just wasn’t a good photography year for me. I’ve been so disappointed with my travel photos, I haven’t done any journaling for our trip yet.

Part of this, I think is due to trying to do something with my photography that was more directed by income possibilities. By trying to be a certain kind of photographer in hopes of making a little money. Trying to be someone I’m not.

I’ve written about this before. I was aware of what I was doing. I fell into the trap set by shiny social media & experts touting the One Right Way of doing things.

In reality, I’m only interested in getting out of my house/town/state/country and seeing all the wonderful things and photographing whatever catches my eye. And do that well enough that it’s worth creating prints and other art from those images.

This dip in my photography practice is normal. We all experience dips. It’s important to remember it’s just a dip. Part of the learning/growth process. It’s not a signal to give up. It’s not a sign that you’ll never be good at whatever your thing is or that society/your parents were right and you should’ve went to law school or whatever respectable job.

Keep going. Keep following joy.