Believe in the Magic of Beginnings
BLOGS.
Yep, I'm going to start blogging.
BUT, I am not a fan of the traditional blogging/writing "rules".
Rules are meant to be broken, ay? Especially in the context of creative expression.
So, let it flow.
I plan to.
I also plan on maximum photo sharing.
I'm thinking; sharing inspiration, sharing experiences, and mostly just sharing what goes on behind the camera.
I would super love feedback (comments, questions, requests, ideas, small talk, whatevers clever).
Now, about beginnings. I have had a lot of those lately. One thing to note about beginnings is that most beginning come paired with an ending. Ex. Get a new job (Woohoo!), end your last job (Say goodbye to some familiar faces and places..bittersweet). For me personally, change is exciting and wonderful, but I'll admit that I'm always repressing some feelings of uncertainty/vulnerability at the same time.
I moved to North Carolina from Wisconsin in September 2015. This meant all new everything, including photography. I've been taking pictures for as long as I can remember. For one million different reasons (that could be a blog post all on it's own). Since I've been in North Carolina my photography has changed dramatically. One of my first friends in NC was an awesome guy and talented photographer named Matt (IG: morelock_). I owe him many thanks for inviting me to an Instameet. Which is basically a group of local photographers who wander, collaborate, and share in their love for cameras. People I've met through this event have become my best friends here in Raleigh, NC. They have also inspired me to try things I had never done before. As a result, I've fallen in love with photography on a whole new level.
I like to think I am super dynamic and consciously avoid falling into patterns that may stump my growth, but this experience reminded me exactly how human I am. All of these years of taking pictures and I've been doing it the same way. I had never even attempted a long exposure shot (fancy tripod magic with a long, drawn out shutter). I had quit spending hours studying other photographers work and dreaming of learning new tricks. Why? Because what I was doing was working for me! Sad excuse, let's be real. So for awhile, I was going crazy with NEW EVERYTHING. I even had this momentary photography identity crisis. I was trying out every style and trick I could find. My photos were of happy children dancing one day and then a girl in a gas mask holding a smoke grenade on dark railroad tracks the next. Which is good! Don't get me wrong. But there is a difference between creating just to see if you're capable, versus creating as an expression of yourself and your unique vision. Both are important, but expression is what I aim for. We all need some sort of self-validation and sense of ownership. Art is good for that.
I thought I already knew this life lesson well, but I hadn't applied it to photography before.
The life lesson is "Let me never be complete".
Quinn doesn't even know it, but this photoshoot we did together meant a lot to me (now she does, thanks girl!). She is not a model (but seriously should be), in fact she told me the only other time she was in front of a camera in this way was when I shot her engagement photos (her wedding is in August and I cannot wait to photograph it!) I gave her flexible, vague instruction prior to the shoot. I basically asked her to dress simply, and I told her that I like white. She showed up looking boss. Super natural, simple, freakin' gorgeous! Which was perfect, I wanted to experiment with combining my love for classic portrait photography with the new "street style" and creative experimental techniques I had been playing with these past few months. We climbed through a hole in the wall of an abandoned warehouse, I ripped some glass off a broken window and held it in front of my lens to add some natural depth/color/effects, she kicked around a homeless person's soccer ball for a bit, and my camera and I went up against some harsh sunlight.
IT WAS SO FUN.
Here are some of the shots of Quinn.
If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten,
but if you keep that childlike curiosity and rememeber that there is always more to learn, you'll find that the well of inspiration and exploration is bottomless.
