Photography is easy when you know where to point your camera. Finding those things might be the biggest challenge.
The trick is perseverance. As long as you keep pointing your camera at things, you will eventually point it at something meaningful. And then something more meaningful. Then twice in a row. Eventually you start to just get a feeling for things that might be worth a shot.
Until one day it becomes a part of how you view the world.
This brings me to an excellent point Kyle McDougall makes about impatience in his ‘Field Notes’ mailing list:
Impatience will only lead to you creating images that are a fraction as deep and impactful as they could be, because you end up focusing on the outcome rather than consistency and honesty.
This resonates with me a lot and I could pull a bunch more quotes from his email to underscore this.
Regardless of your feelings towards today’s instant-media culture, you can’t deny that it feeds on impatience. Everything needs to be shared immediately and people expect instant access to anything you create. Being impatient with your work does not benefit you at all. Making good work takes time. Give yourself that time.
Take the time to wonder, to wander, to find focus and allow yourself to be the best you can be.