Ever since I was about 15 years old, I’ve been carrying a camera around wherever I go. Sometimes it’s an old middle format film camera, sometimes my small mirrorless DSLR, often the trusty (dare I say old) D810 with one or two lenses in the bag. Because you never know when you come across that urban fox or bald eagle that shouldn’t even live anywhere near the city.
In the winter, I love photographing snowy scenes, all kinds of frozen plants and other objects, maybe some star trails or even aurora when they occur on a clear night. In the spring, all the budding plants and trees just beg to be snapped, and don’t even get me started on the teeny tiny little ducklings and other cute little feathery creatures hatching in the summer.
I have lately even tried to widen my photographic horizons a bit by learning flash photography and studio portraits. And what happens with them? Well, I take tons of photos in the studio and get all excited when I notice a few that look promising on the camera screen. They are going to be amazing when edited!
And then I get home, be it from the studio or a nearby bird-watching spot, and I forget my camera in the bag for the coming few weeks. I guess the birds and trees don’t really mind the delay in getting the final results published here or on Instagram, but I think it would be nice – not to mention good manners – to provide the edited photos to my human models within a decent time of the studio session.
I tend to take a lot of photos but I’m having a hard time getting my photos uploaded onto the computer, let alone retouched and ready for publishing. Sometimes it is intentional because at first, I’m not happy with the results and need some time to distance myself from the photoshoot. Maybe I had a certain photo in my mind but the light was wrong for it, or I didn’t manage to get the framing and background that I thought was ideal on the spot.
Still, I must confess that nine times out of ten it has nothing to do with intention or distancing. On the contrary, all these explanations are nothing but excuses. As much as I enjoy editing my photos and seeing the final results, it still feels like something of a chore in comparison to being out in the field or in the studio with my camera and taking photos.
I guess I must be a bit addicted to the click of the shutter.