Dreaming About 2012

Early morning moon on 17 Dec, 2011

I don’t usually set myself goals for the coming year, but I do like to lay out the general direction that I hope to pursue in the year, so in this article, I thought I would write about some of my current thoughts relative to this blog.

Since photography is just a hobby with me, I don’t need to achieve anything in particular, but I would like to spend more time learning to achieve better results while having fun.  In accordance with that desire, I hope to spend less time lusting after new cameras and lenses.  This will free up some of the time that I have spent cruising the web and reading all the reviews on the newest and greatest; but, I have to admit that it will not be easy since I tend to be a “gear addict”, especially in the months when the weather is dark, dreary, and cold.

If I spend less time reading on the web, I need to come up with other, more creative ways to fill that time.  I started spending a lot of time reading on the computer these past two years when I had trouble walking and was recovering from several surgeries.  I just couldn’t get out and about as much as I desired.  This year I’m hoping to get out and about more to take pictures.  This may be my biggest challenge but yet it is the thing I most want to do.

One thing that I finally grasped this past year (it took the metaphoric two-by-four to the side of the head to make me finally understand it … thank you Charlie) is that my current cameras are far more capable than I, and I need to spend more time on developing my skills in using them.  The only reason for me to replace what I have at this point might be to trade in my two cameras to achieve a single light & small, but good system that is easy to carry.  In my case, the greatest gains in picture quality should occur with practice and improved skills and this would be easier with one system to master.

My interests in photography arose from the desire to record my travels.  Since I was usually traveling with a small group, I had to work on getting adequate pictures under the constraints of traveling with a group.  Since I have no plans for similar travel this year, at least not yet, I will have more time to hone other skills and experiment.  To that end, I plan to be far more deliberate about the pictures that I take.  While traveling I often took a picture thinking that I would really look at the scene later on my computer.  I now hope to slow down and spend more time improving my vision as well as making the picture.  I also hope to try different types and styles of pictures and work on developing them.

One thing that I would like to explore is simplifying my photography, including the images that I make.  I have tended to primarily take landscape pictures, and while that might not change, I would like to try reducing the scope of the images down to simple things.  While I won’t go so far as to focus on what other’s call “Art Photography”, I might try to find a compromise and record images that are all around us but in a way that others haven’t viewed them.   If I am successful, this style might open up opportunities for me while I’m doing less traveling.

Another thing that I would like to do is find other local photography hobbyists in this area so that I can discuss photography, share ideas and knowledge, ask questions, and go on photo walks with a few of them around this area.

Along with the above changes, if all goes as I hope, you will also see different types of articles in this blog.  While you will see less on foreign travel, gear, etc., you should see more about the local area around Hanover, PA, and more about my challenges as I try different things.  This may mean fewer photography articles, at least at first during this winter, so I might also go back to my original plans for this blog and write some more about other changes as I see them.

Unknown at this point is whether this is only a vision, whim, or fantasy … or is achievable.