Coming out of a stagnant winter I am always itching to get out and make pictures. I’m going to be brutally honest here… I usually start my photo walks in a negative mindset. What I mean by this is that sometimes I feel like I have taken every possible photo I could have taken in my neighborhood. Somedays are worse than others… but it’s honestly the worst thing I could do to myself. It can kill a creative day. I know I’m not the only person who struggles with this. Here are some thoughts and ideas on what I have done to combat this. One – Look for new angles. Even if it’s something you’ve already photographed a million times before. Stand on something tall, and you’ve already created a new perspective. Two – Look at different options for lighting. Whether it’s a change in the time of day, or you add a flash into the equation. I’ve recently played around with adding flash into some of my photos and I’ve loved the different looks you can achieve with this. Last but not least – The most obvious idea is to just get in your car and drive to somewhere you’ve never been to, or photographed before. I didn’t do this as much as I would have liked to this summer, but it’s definitely something I am working on doing more of. I was able to travel back and forth from Maine to my hometown in Pennsylvania a lot this summer. Photographing where I grew up was refreshing because I am seeing things in a new perspective now. It’s a weird thing being away from something for a long time and coming back to it and seeing all of the changes. I’ve grown a lot since leaving Pennsylvania, but coming back to visit is always refreshing. I am able to see and appreciate it all so much more now. I am almost seeing it all through new eyes.
My family has had the privilege to stay at this lake house in Pennsylvania the last (10?) years or so now. I think the last time I was able to stay here was in 2014? So it has been a few years, but this year I was able to bring my wife along for a stay. It’s nice being able to put the phones away for a moment and just soak in the sunshine and be in the company of family. The weather definitely put a huge damper on our stay this year, but I am hoping for a lengthier and drier stay in the future.
I spent the first 18 years of my life in the country side of the town I grew up in. Driving around where I grew up is always special to me. Even if it is sometimes hard to realize that these places no longer exist in my life anymore. When I look back at my childhood I see these fields. I see the dirt roads, and the forest in which I spent all of my summer days. I’m currently working on a body of work that consists of these places, but finishing this project could take years.
after thoughts • photography & b-sides 