2013: Photography

I’ve been thinking a lot about goals I want to put in place for 2013, on both a business and personal level. I am not a fan of new year’s resolutions, but I have come to the realization that using the winter solstice and new year for a fresh start is one of the best ways for me to look at what I’ve done and what I want to do next. There’s something about wrapping up the holidays, fluffy white snow, and the start of tax season that really gets me ready for productivity.

One of the biggest things I want to work on and improve is my photography skill. I am ashamed to admit how little I have picked up my camera this year, but I am also a pretty big advocate of not forcing something if you’re not inspired to do it. It almost always comes back – enjoy the silence while it’s there and do what you’re really feeling, ya know?

More than anything, I need to buy and learn Photoshop. I know, I know – I am the asshole using open source editing tools, but in most cases it does what I want it to do. I also think it has helped me learn the many features of my camera and how to get used to quickly changing manual functions. I don’t particularly enjoy editing, and when I am working on still life ideas I love playing around and seeing how close to the “perfect” image I can get straight out of the camera.

Even in that case, I want to learn more about controlling and changing colors during the editing process to create surreal styles out of natural scenes. I would also like to experiment with using myself as the subject, something I’ve never done.

I am working on a bit of an “editorial calendar” for myself that incorporates ideas in with the seasons and allows room for deadlines and a little discipline. I might even research a local photo class or two and see if there’s anything worth checking out. I’ve never taken a class so it would be interesting to get some professional perspective and learn a new technique or two.

Maybe I haven’t done much over the past year, but I still think I have made progress because I look at my older work and scoff as I scream “WHAT IS THIS SHIT” over and over in my head. It’s critical, but it’s not always a bad thing. It’s good to have standards and be able to look at the work you once thought was amazing and imagine how you could do it better with the knowledge and resources you have now. I like that feeling.

So that’s one of several thoughts I have brewing in my head for the new year. What kind of goals or resolutions are you making for 2013?

Posted on December 21, 2012
This entry was posted in Life and tagged 2013 resolutions, detroit photography, michigan photography, photography goals.