Photo Friday / 6.6.2025
I took this photo a few days ago after listening to a photographer named Sam Elkins talk about some of the things he's learned in the last ten years of his career journey. My summary of one of the things he said is this:
Shoot what you enjoy and it will remain interesting.
In the search for balance in my own creative work — balance between making photos I'm actually proud of and merely trying to make images that clients will pay for — while it can be tempting to look for market trends, and simply shoot to catch the ever roaming eye of the masses, I am at the same time convicted that I don't want to build my business in such a way. It seems to work for some people, yet I can't help wondering where those people will be in ten years. Is fame quickly gained just as suddenly lost?
I’ve the suspicion that things that grow slowly tend to live longer.
I'm not writing with authority here, only curiosity. My photography doesn't pay my bills, after all. I hope that someday enough people will decide that the art I make is what they want to pay for, and my photos will put bread on the table for my family. But I don't know if that will happen.
For the time being, I suppose I'll just keep photographing the things I care about, the people and places and things that make up my life, and that make it beautiful. Perhaps that is enough.