What I Learned About My Photography In 2020
2020 was the year that I finally started to put my vision into reality. There were many years of should I, shouldn’t I thoughts swirling in my head. There were times when I had no time, times when I had no drive to do more, and even times when I thought that it was just a dream that would always be a dream. I decided a few years ago to go back to school and get a degree to pursue the passion that I had. Getting a higher education as an adult with a full-time job, family, household, and everything that goes along with life, is not the easiest. It is time consuming and, strenuous. But let me say this, it is all worth it. As I progressed farther this year into my degree, I really got to see how much this passion really meant to me. It opened my eyes that this is what I want to do. I enjoy doing it, I want to do more, I want to build something from the ground up, I want to make this happen. Going to school has made me want to continue to push harder and harder to keep getting better. It has made me realize that I don’t want to be stagnant ever. I always want to do more, learn more, and keep making myself both a better student and a better person. I value my education and I value the fact that I am able to get this education.
For me and the world this past year, there was no major travel. Travel is a great way to give more options to shoot. Travel gives us the opportunity as photographers to get out of our normal routine and normal shooting spots. It opens us up to get out and try new things. This year, not so much. This year was about getting creative where I am. 2020 was about challenging myself to do better in the place I am at with what I have around me. I learned to try new things in the places I am comfortable at. I would go to the same local beach and try to not shoot the same thing I have shot a hundred times or more in the same way I have shot it those hundred something times. As a family we went out and “traveled” more on our own home turf. I live on an island surrounded by ocean and waterways, why not explore. I am also a few hours car ride away from some of the most beautiful landscapes “upstate” New York has to offer. For instance, I had a trip booked to Boston in the North Harbor area to see a concert, explore and take as many images as my memory cards would allow, all of that cancelled because of the circumstances of the year. Instead, we went out to our very own paradise close to home, Montauk or “the end”. There I got to enjoy and photograph world class beaches and an awesome little beach town, spend quality time with my family, and actually get to relax and watch the waves roll in and out on the Atlantic Ocean. We adapted and overcame that obstacle. I made the effort to bring my cameras, try new shots, and see that part of the Island from behind the lens.
Along with learning to try new things in the places that are familiar, I learned that I always want to expand what and how I shoot. Do I want to be just a street photographer or just a landscape photographer? No, not at all. Like I said in one of my previous blogs, “shoot what you love”. I love to shoot what I see and what I find interesting. I have opened my mind to trying different types of photography such as film, black and white, macro, etc. I try different styles such as portrait, nature, still life, etc. Will I be fond of all of them, maybe not, but at least I can say I tried it and gave myself the opportunity to find out. Of course, there are types and styles I like more than others but that isn’t ever going to stop me from trying. I believe that the things I am not good at, the things I really have to try harder for and work at a little extra, are the ones that pay off the most when I really get it to start to work for me. I learned I like to be a student of this artform and to me that means to keep trying new things.
This was the year I got serious and built a website along with social media pages specifically for my photography. Again, stepping out of my comfort zone and trying something new. Taking the next step to fulfill my dream was creating my website. Here I can show my journey, show my captured moments of time and light. I created this blog you are reading right now. Was it scary at first, sure. Thoughts of “will people like it, will people read it, will they even visit my site?” all ran through my mind. But all those thoughts drifted away once I started to build it and create what you are looking at now. Like the old saying goes “if you build it, they will come”, well not that easy. There is a lot of self-marketing, self-reflecting, trials and errors, and non-stop effort to make it succeed. Although I am only on the ground floor, I am in the building. Only one way to go from here.
I look forward to the new year coming up. I hope it is better for everyone the world over. I am looking forward to the new challenges I have ahead of me, and I look forward to the future progress I hope is in store. I have learned a lot this year for better or worse. I learned to be thankful for what I have and who I have around me. I learned that with hard work, dedication and a really good support system, anything is possible. Happy New Year to each and every one of you. Stay safe and vigilant. Keep your eyes on the prize and never ever give up. Here’s to a happy, healthy and prosperous 2021.
