Exploring The Light
When I committed to pick up my camera and shoot every single day in 2023, I knew it would look different than the last time I felt this passionate about photography. At that point I was still learning. I’m still learning, and will always be learning, but I feel a greater sense of confidence about where I am in my photography journey than I did back in 2015. Maybe I feel a greater sense of confidence in myself, too.
I don’t have any rules for myself on this journey other than to shoot from the heart, and to push myself creatively. To put something out into the world that I’m proud of everyday. I’m using instagram as the vessel and the pressure for likes is real, so I even turned that feature off. This journey isn’t about how many other people like my work…it’s about how I feel about my work. When I look at an image that I take, I want to feel transported back to that moment.
Besides knowing how to work the camera, there are two elements in photography that can make or break the end result for me. Composition & Light. I’ve become a light chaser in my 365 day journey behind the camera.
Chasing the light is important in photography. We’re always searching for it, playing with it, making it bend to get the best possible moments out of it. Light can take the most mundane scene or activity, and transform it into something of interest. It can create magic.
“Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. but above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.”
Instinctively, I know how to use light in my images. Years of education and practice have given me that gift. Lately, though, I’ve felt compelled to explore the types and attributes of light again as part of The Kitchen Sink Project. Creativity can grow stale, and light is an amazing way to challenge myself to continue to develop as a photographer. Soft light, hard light, open light, slivers of light, light from technology - there are so many ways to play with light and create images you love.