Findingviews

I teach beginners digital photography and had a recent discussion with a student who has done extremely well and is now central to a new camera club being set up. He was finding that the role of club leader was reducing his shooting time and whilst rewarding it was not actually taking pictures.

This is a common problem.

If you have a creative drive and creative urges are high then you will naturally want to push yourself forward as hard as possible.  When you find yourself drawn in a direction that reduces your creative time, or when life intervenes to reduce the time available for your art then frustration is natural. After all a great artist once said that the best way improve yourself is to do something everyday. Unfortunately for many people this is difficult and leads to frustration.

Frustration is counter productive and needs to be avoided. A frustrated artist may end up dwelling on the negative or the impossible. It may lead to a paralysis of action. Not a good thing.

I have this problem too. Some times the work I do leads me away from the creative and I find myself wondering about what to do next.

I have found one answer to the problem. It is to float  in the wind. It is impossible to control everything that happens in life. What is in control however  is your attitude and ability to take advantage of opportunity. So what you need to do is not worry when life stops you from doing what you want. Relax, deal with one problem at a time and get back out there taking pictures as soon as you can. However just because you cannot go our with your best camera that should not stop you. These days most of us carry cameras in our phones. Take a moment out to quickly take a picture of things that catch your eye. This quick snapping will help you keep your eye in on composition.

So don’t make a chore out of things, don’t get stressed, snap away and when you can go out and do great work.

That way you can go on for years, ever improving your craft.