Photography Growing Pains (Chelsea, MI)

Graveyard brambles – photo provided by author

I’ve been told that my photography isn’t for everyone. That, in fact, nobody’s photography is for everyone.

In general, I typically have a lot going on in my frame. This “busy” nature of my photos does not necessarily have a wide appeal, but it appeals to me, and a handful of other folks who drop by my portfolio once in awhile and say, hey, good shot. (That was actually one of the main reasons I started this blog, so thank you handful-of-other-people!)

You might say that’s because I typically have a lot going on in my head, and my mental state is gonna come out in what I shoot. (To which I’d snap back … um, yeah, that’s fair.)

I also think it’s a reflection of what I look for from all sorts of art — literary, theatrical, visual — experiences where the more you look, the more you see. A certain detail may jump out initially, but as you pay more attention, you find that there’s so much more than that first detail. That’s my idea of a good time.

That being said …

Lately I’ve been “studying” the art of photography a bit more. By “study”, I mean the casual following of blogs, occasional articles when I’m bored. But yeah, studying! Anyway, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much I like more minimalist photos. Shots with nearly empty backgrounds, expertly employing a narrow depth of field that draws you to the primary (often the only) subject. I find these images extraordinarily beautiful and worthy of respect.

And I’ve been thinking, well gosh golly, why don’t I go out there and try to mix up my style a bit? Here are all these awesome photos I’m not getting, I should go out there and get them!

So armed with my camera and my new-found knowledge of minimalist photography, I set out on not just one, but two photo shoot day trips over the past month, ready to try my hand at this exciting new world of beauty in imagery.

End result (cue music): Wah, wah, wah …

I continued to fill my frame.

I continued to want to find something more than what I originally targeted, more than I realized with a surface level glance.

I continued to want to get lost, then get found.

I guess it’s no real surprise that I shoot this way, I mean, my brain will do what my brain will do. I also recognize that I don’t have to produce in every style that I like, and I don’t have to stop liking what I produce simply because it’s not representative of all of those styles.

All that said, this experience was a fun exercise in photography navel-gazing. I have confidence that with time, I’ll learn a bunch more about what kind of artist I want to be, and spend countless hours continuing to ramble and introspect about it. You’ve been warned.

Shot on Panasonic DC-ZS70, ƒ/8, 1/100, 47.5mm, ISO800

Related: