Forest in the Rain

Let me spin you a yarn. I am frankly not interested in whether or not you’ve got yarn already. You’re getting this yarn. I worked really hard on it.

A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. So here is your sugar: You are pretty and I think you have a nice smile. Now sit back and take your medicine: this yarn. 

A little while ago I was in a photo slump. It happens once in a while and generally follows the same pattern. I’ll be really stoked about photography, have tons of ideas, do a lot of shoots, and feel great. Then something else will come up, and I’ll get excited about that. 

I won’t think too much about photos. I’ll only shoot when I’m out doing other things, hanging with friends or on weekend trips. This will lead to some shooting days where I rush, get nothing of value, and my excitement for the hobby will wane further. It’s kind of a vicious cycle. 

 This happens once every few months. And the best way I’ve found to snap out of it is pretty simple. Firstly, it helps to have something else really important you should be doing. (eg. job hunting, paying bills, physical health, cooking meals, caring for the elderly, finding somewhere to dispose of your radioactive nuclear waste, burning the body, melting off your fingerprints, digging out that fake driver’s license, dying your hair, getting out of the country. The usual stuff.)

Now, put that off for a bit. Trust me, it can wait. 

The trick is, just go out and shoot. Go by yourself, take your time, shoot what you like to shoot, bring some tunes, just go do the thing. This is what photography means to me personally. It’s just you and your camera and you just wander around looking at nature, or buildings, or whatever you like to shoot. And just doing it for the sake of doing it.

These photos by all indications aren’t my best work. They’re out of focus, grainy and dark. But I love them because of the story behind them. I like them because they got me excited about photos again. Because they show that the process is more important than the product.

I tried stepping up the grain and glare, making them look old, worn, and grungy. I think it perfectly fits the scene of a wet forest in the rain. None of these photos stand out as individuals but as a set, they paint a picture of a gloomy afternoon at the end of autumn.

The signs of a cold wet season to come. They tell the story of the last bits of beauty, colour, and energy of the end of summer. 

Stay tuned for way more inside photos in the weeks and months to come. I’ve got some cool ass ideas. Now I just have to go do them.