As I have mentioned below I have started using the VERO platform to share my images, and like all sensible people it is a mix of ‘greatest hits’ and those that I just really like (your personal mileage may vary).
And it has been odd; wrung with elements of nostalgia (a number of those images harken back to emotionally significant times), contemplation and a clearer view on what I would do differently if I was shooting the scene now.
There is no doubt that the way I shoot now, along with my personal style, has changed and evolved over the years. I have a better idea of what I am looking for and what works (for me anyway) in a composition. In many ways I try less hard, and simply try better.
Photography, on a macro and micro scales, is endlessly evolving. New rules, old rules, smash the rules, subvert the rules, develop a distinctive style, focus on a theme, project or subject, etcetera, etc. And it becomes more complex as you progress, with more nuance, more consideration and more to worry about. And some of that progression can lead you right into a rut, because what you do works for you, works for Instagram or VERO or YouTube or whatever the audience or medium is.
So there are two questions that have arisen for me out of this last few days; how would I do something differently if I went back, and what would I do differently now?
The first is, I guess, looking at the tension between what you have done in the past and what you know now, both artistically and technically, and the second is about continuing to evolve and change in new directions in the present.
Looking at previous images I have stopped wincing a little at them in comparison to what I, and others (we’re all susceptible to that comparison) are taking now, and I am simply viewing them with pleasure, and a little thought. I love that image but how would i do it differently?
Looking at my current imagery, the thought process isn’t a clinical one, but centres itself around enjoyment (if I am not enjoying the process then why do it) and experimentation. Sometimes this involves looking at what other people are doing technique-wise and seeing how you can apply it to what you are doing. Stealing techniques and ideas from other people is, for me anyway, fine as long as it about growing your skillset and understanding and not a cynical cash grab.
This last year I have gone through real ups and downs with my photography, which is partially linked to other factors but also seated in a deep, hard-to-define dissatisfaction with what I am doing, how I am doing it and the results arising out of it. Some day I will go out and shoot nothing of consequence and enjoy the experience, other days it’s just an emotional and inspirational shit-show.
So… do something different. Take portraits instead of landscapes, candids instead of formal, street instead of architecture, smear that lens with Vick’s, take that GoPro under the sea, take photos of seabirds whilst standing on a headline naked (don’t do that). You might hate the experience, or find it excruciating or complex or humbling, but it may make you appreciate what you already do all the more, or take you on a different photographic adventure altogether.