My evolution as a photographer has been that of a bell curve.
I liken it to this type of graph by how my approach has been loosely defined, to refined, to now broadly based.
Many years ago, I would’ve shirked the idea of including a “man-made object” into a composition.
I said to myself “I am strictly a nature photographer! I do not want to photograph people or buildings!”
Yet this limiting belief began to stifle my creativity. My sense of discovery within photography diminished.
There was an impending doom of “the creative rut” coming about me.
I felt there was more to the story I had to tell.
And so, I began diving deep into other forms of photography.
I started to research how to create ICM (Intentional Camera Movement) images, how to piece together a panorama of a city skyline, how to incorporate the “hand of man” into my compositions seamlessly.
Suddenly, the limiting beliefs and self-imposed labels I had been living just went away.
I wasn’t just a nature photographer anymore, I was now a photographer.
This may sound hokey, as nature is still first and foremost my primary discipline and source material behind the camera. Yet this could now free my mind to express itself in new and unusual ways.
The portfolio as a result began to evolve with the experimentation, and my overall happiness tended to flourish with the new work.
To top it all off, the public’s reception of the changes were quite welcome.
Fear and inexperience should never be a deterrent for producing new work. In fact, it should only fuel you to give it a shot!
Have you ever took a deep dive into a new form or genre of photography? How did it go? I would love to hear some stories or see some examples of your photographic experiments.
Leave a comment down below or email them, thanks for reading!
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