Struggling

I read a blog post today from David DuChemin from the Pixelated Image Blog about struggling with making meaningful photographs. This post is a must read for all photographers who have ever struggled to make a photograph, and this means all photographers. This post really resonated with me today, not so much because I am really struggling hard right now but becasue I often do. I go into many photo shoots just wondering if I can make a decent frame. The post on Davids site doesn't offer any magic remedies, or solutions to the problem other than to decide to get out of bed and go shoot again the next day. I was struck with how closely that mimics life in general. Sometimes the best we can do is get up and get going again.

I find it helps to go back and look at work from a year ago, or even 5 years ago. When I do this, I generally find my photographs are getting better. I also find it extrememly hepful to have others look at my photos and critique them. That is a big reason why I wanted to start this blog. I wanted to put my photographs on display; good, bad, or ugly.

Here is a photograph I took last week at a youth outreach, when I posted this photograph on Facebook, it got a very strong positive response from a friend of mine from High School. She saw it and it touched her. She is working at a large Youth Outreach in Sacramento tonight and the timing was right for her to see this photo. My point is that if I would have stayed home in the AC rather than going to shoot these pictures, this one never would have been made and it was a positive influence for someone. Don't be afraid to go shoot and do not worry about how the photos are going to come out, practice and trust that your practice will continue to pay off.

Shot with a Nikon D300 and 70 - 300mm VR lens.