Getting Lost

I spend so much energy, time and effort just trying to be the best that I can be. And up until recently, this simple but rewarding formula had worked brilliantly. Hard work in. Good stuff out. No secret tricks or shortcuts. Just lots of learning, loads of experimenting and just getting on with it.

But recently I felt that this formula had gone a little out of balance. It felt as if I was getting diminishing returns on my time and energy; the harder I worked, the further away the good stuff seemed to get. It was all becoming a little repeating routine of the same work, the same worries and the same rewards, always just a little out of reach.

The thing is, I just couldn’t see it. I was to entrenched with the goals, the constant strive to achieve something, anything that there was no room left for chance, for interesting and unique opportunities. I was well and truly stuck on my own little train track. I was working harder, putting more fuel in, but I was still only ever going to the same destination at the same old speed.

The thing that set me free? Getting lost.

I took a break. Not a long one. Not an exciting one. Not even a very relaxing one. Just one, where I introduced myself to the unknown. I scrapped all of my todo lists and plans, and completely wiped my personal goals for the year. Sure, I still have things I would want todo, they just aren’t written down anywhere. They are now as flexible and immaterial as the thoughts in my head. I’m not on tracks anymore.

Photography is, and always will be something I immerse myself in, regardless if it’s weddings, portraiture or landscapes or street photography. I love the work, I enjoy the creative journey and I especially enjoy it when things don’t go as I expect them to. Creative up’s and downs are just a natural part of being a photographer. But rather than my creativity or ideas being inspired by my plans, goals and lists, it should be the other way around, and instead feed from my passion; my gut instinct for what I want to shoot and how I want to shoot it. I should be taking risks and straying off the path.

So don’t wait around for the slow predictable journey. Step off your little track and go get lost…