I always taught growing up… ‘practise makes better,’ rather than ‘practise makes perfect,’ and I have always agreed with this. I believe everyone always has room for improvement whether this be professional, personally or creatively. And the same of course is true for myself. Despite 20+ years now of photography I always feel there is room for improvement. After all, what is the point of carrying on if you have reached perfection? I don’t see failure as a problem, of course it can be disappointing and frustrating but it can also be an opportunity. An opportunity to learn and give it another go another time.
There is definitely an element of my photography, or rather my approach to my photography that is probably a hindrance to my growth as a photographer, and that is my fascination with all forms of photography. This is in stark contrast to when I first started out in photography where I could easily pigeon holed into landscape photography. Now I find myself just as happy shooting something completely abstract one moment to capturing some wildlife the next. Below are three images that demonstrate this perfectly, all taken the same day. The morning shooting macro, during the day some ‘walkabout’ photography at Lanhydrock, and then the evening shooting wildlife.
So in many respects I feel like a jack of trades and master of none when it comes to photography, neither a beginner in any genre or an expert. I wouldn’t change this, as they say… spice is the variety of life. But I do often wonder where my photography could go if I focused all my efforts into one genre? I guess what scares me with this idea is the thought that there would be times where photography would take a back-burner, whilst waiting for the perfect conditions for my chosen subject.
