I had forgotten one crucial thing.
On a recent outing, I had forgotten one crucial thing. It wasn’t a memory card or a camera battery. I had plenty of those. What I had forgotten was why I went out to create photographs in the first place. The day started well enough; I had some beautiful light rays streaming through the trees only a few yards into the trail. There were conditions that one usually hopes for but rarely actually gets. It was a great start to the day, and I was excited to keep exploring. 20 yards after that, I found an excellent woodland scene of fern leaves draped perfectly over a rain-soaked fallen log; It was gorgeous. This day was off to a rip-roaring start!
It wasn’t long after that that I found myself in a funk. I felt like I was stuck in a rut. I found myself looking for the next composition and image to create, and I felt like I could not find anything I hadn’t already photographed. I was about to give up, turn around and head back home. I mean, what is the point?! Why take a slightly different image from the one I made last time and the time before that? I was really asking myself this question while standing in the midst of the woods. Birds were sinking all around me, a gentle creek flowing gingerly through the woods, and I was upset that I was making photographs in the middle of all this beauty. I had lost sight of why I was there in the first place. It wasn’t to make photographs. It was to enjoy the surroundings. The photographs I make celebrate that beauty; they are a reaction to the things I see and enjoy. I had forgotten that.
The reason I go out in the first place is to enjoy the wonders and beauty of nature. Whether it be woodland or mountains, a sunset coastline, or my favorite, a rocky shoreline of one of the great lakes. I go out to enjoy my surroundings. My images celebrate these places; they are the trophies I take with me and share with the world. It’s a surprising realization that, as a photographer, the photographs are secondary and that the primary importance is just appreciating your surroundings. And that is what will lead to better images in the end.
