This one is important. If photography is your passion, most of the time you love the feel of your camera in your hands. But there will be days when you can’t stand it. It’s good to take a break. One of the instructors at the Perfect Picture School of Photography where I took several classes once said that he didn’t touch his camera for a year. He needed to re-examine his art from a higher altitude, and sometimes the distance of time is the only way to do that.
Must have done him some good...his shots are striking.
So here’s the rub: As long as the fire burns within you, you’ve got to keep your skills sharp. Sharpening comes mostly from practice, and practice needs to be consistent. You’ve got to be out there shooting if you ever hope to get really good at something.
I joined a “Photo-a-Day” community within SmugMug in 2008. On my 40th birthday, I set out to capture that year of my life via a photo taken each day. Most of the time I looked forward to chasing after the day’s image, but of course there were days when I didn’t feel any inspiration to do it. Didn’t matter. I chased after a photo anyway, and published it. I wrote a caption to go with it and even divulged my post-processing steps. It was a sweet achievement reaching my 41st birthday without having missed a day.
Curious? That year of my life is in this gallery.
I had hoped to continue doing the same for my 41st year but I got snagged on back-to-back trips to Japan and Maine and never recovered. Once I was out of the routine I lapsed and there were stretches where I didn’t touch my camera. The fire didn't gone out, but I allowed things to get in the way.
With this blog I hope to keep the practice going, even if it won’t be daily. You should do the same, no matter what your passion is.
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