There’s an previous saying that distance makes the center develop fonder – and it seems, it applies simply as effectively to pictures because it does to like. My journey behind the lens has been an extremely lucky one.
What began as a pastime shortly turned a job, then a full-blown profession that took me to the locations I as soon as dreamt of. And one way or the other, I’ve discovered myself full circle – as soon as once more photographing merely for the enjoyment of it, all whereas remaining immersed on the planet of pictures as a journalist. It’s uncommon. It’s fortunate. And it’s taught me lots.
Perhaps the most important lesson I’ve discovered alongside the way in which isn’t one thing you’ll discover in a handbook or a YouTube tutorial. It’s this: one of the best factor you possibly can typically do on your pictures is to cease. To take a break. Put the digital camera down. Step again.
It sounds counterintuitive, however the second you permit your self that distance, you create area to breathe, to suppose, to mirror. That area turns into fertile floor on your creativity to develop once more – in your phrases, not the algorithm’s.
I’ve at all times believed in documenting the fantastic thing about the mundane. The strange moments. The quiet scenes nobody else notices. But there was some extent the place I felt disconnected from my very own work – not as a result of I didn’t care, however as a result of I had by no means given myself the prospect to pause and ask why I used to be making the photographs I used to be.
The reply didn’t come instantly, however over time, with the digital camera safely packed away, it started to kind.
When I eventually picked up the camera again, I saw differently. More clearly. More honestly. My vision hadn’t just returned – it had refined itself.
There’s a quiet kind of humility that comes from stepping away. You lose the noise, the pressure, the obsession with output. You’re no longer chasing the next great frame or worrying whether it’ll land well on social media. You begin to realise the joy of simply seeing again – with your eyes, not just your lens.
That’s the kind of perspective you can’t force. You have to live a little. Miss it a little. And then come back to it when it feels right.
So if you’re feeling lost, uninspired, or unsure of what direction to take, don’t be afraid to pause. Let yourself put the camera down without guilt. Live your life.
And when you’re ready – really ready – to pick it back up again, you might just find that your photography has moved forward in ways you never expected.
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