Panorama made in Tonto National Forest, Arizona
I feel better when I’m making pictures. Yes, I have unrealistic expectations about what anyone should think about these pictures, and I’m insecure about showing them to people. I want to feel special. This is childish and not a great way to move the creative ball forward.
I diminish and dismiss well made work as a preemptive strike designed to defang anyone else’s attack. This leads to spiraling self-doubt sessions which wind up in front of the television, watching someone else’s creative work.
The solution: simple daily inoculation against that lizard-brained self-doubt. I’m not changing the world with my work yet. That’s not why I do it. I make art to settle my nerves, to change my relationship to to the world. Sharing work is an extra bonus. I like to see the world photographed. People like to see a photographed world.
My process is changing. I used to be too precious about how my work should be seen and experienced. Only the finest execution would do. While having high production values is a good thing, I can get carried away. I produce myself right out of a project.
There is always an internal struggle. Part of me wants to just blast out work like 32nd notes at a Slayer concert, and another wants to create a zen garden with only one stone in it. While both require technical mastery, the approach and outcome is slightly different.
So, how to balance those to speeds? Just make the work. Trust that everything finds its own level. Show it around because people might enjoy seeing it, and have a moment outside of their daily grind. That is enough, and anything else is gravy.