Creativity

I first got into this photography malarkey in 2008 (and in 2010 I wrote about how I got hooked). I’ve had great fun with it since then, and I feel that I’ve improved significantly. I know much more these days about the technicalities of photography, and the theory of art. When I look back at some of my earlier work, I can see its technical deficiencies, poor composition or shonky post-production. But for some reason, I still consider a lot of that work to be among my best. I’m still having fun, but I’m not sure if I’ve improved as much as I would have liked.

Why is this? Perhaps as my skill has grown, my inspiration has waned. Or maybe it is fond reminiscence for a past time: holidays and memories that allows me to look on my earlier work with rose-coloured spectacles. Possibly my lack of improvement is a figment of my own imagination, and everyone except me thinks my work has become better with time. Am I too close to my own work to be a fair judge?

I do struggle with inspiration and creativity. I have the equipment and the technical knowledge to know how to use it, but I’m not always sure what to point the camera at for maximum effect. I’m a geek, not an artist. I bought my first camera to play with as a toy. However, I’ve done my best to learn and improve my artistic skills by studying and appraising the work of the photographers I admire most. I’m still a bit short on ideas, though.

My inspirations

• Ansel Adams
• Edward Weston
• Gustave le Gray
• Graham McPherson

I’m genuinely curious – does anyone who reads this blog think that my work has improved significantly since 2008? I’ve selected some of my favourite pictures from 2008, but please have a look through some of the archives and let me know your opinions in the comments.

• 2008 archive
• 2012 archive

I would appreciate full honesty – we’ve already established I’m an emotionless nerd 😉 I’ll be genuinely interested to hear what third parties think of my progression.