Gosh, this year has zoomed by so fast – and Christmas as usual is a building up full of excitement that comes and goes in a moment. With that, I have mostly been thinking about 2022, and I haven’t written about New Year’s resolutions for a few years.
It’s only days until Christmas and I have been thinking about what kind of photography I will have a chance to do in 2022.
That thought stayed with me when I went to bed last night, but I couldn’t sleep and after some Internet surfing I decided to look at some of my past articles, and I found two I wrote back in 2015. I wrote that the coming year was looking positive, and the prospect of new opportunities was exciting. Jotting down a list of goals (resolutions) at the beginning of each year might be a good idea. I asked photographers what they would make as resolutions, and most responded with the usual:
Use a tripod more.
Turn off Auto mode.
Buy a new camera or lens.
Try shooting RAW.
Learn more about lighting.
Take more photos.
Learn more about Composition.
Learn better post-production techniques.
However, I want something more inspirational. With friendly prodding and online searching I put together the following resolutions or goals that seemed to be about improving within this exciting medium in the year to come.
1. Pay more attention to creative ideas. “This could be the year to begin evolving creatively”.
2. There is too much focus on what is the best camera. When we spend too much time worrying about the camera we forget about the story. “We should be concerned with making images that tell a story”.
3. Take risks and move away from always trying to please social media strangers.
Make this year to push-the-envelope beyond the comfort zone without being concerned with other’s opinions. Maybe this will be the year to put “me” in the photograph.
4. Learn a new technique. It’s as simple as experimenting, and taking the time to read up on a technique and then giving it a try. Photographers should always make the effort to learn new techniques. Take a class, or buy some books or CDs written by accomplished photographic writers.
5. Choose new subjects to “get out of the rut of shooting the same thing over and over”. While practicing portraiture or landscapes is good, doing the same thing the same way over and over lacks inventiveness and creativity.
6. Make every shot count and stay away from the “spray and pray” shooting style. “It’s about quality photographs, not massive picture snapping sessions”.
7. Become more ruthless with one’s photography and what is done in post-production; “conditioning oneself to throw out the crap is the best way to keep improving.”
Finally, I’ll wish everyone a great 2022 and end this with a quote by award winning English author, Neil Gaiman.
“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.”
Merry Christmas. Stay safe and be creative.
These are my thoughts for this week. Contact me at www.enmanscamera.com or emcam@telus.net.
_______________
Like us on Facebook
