Feather and Stone Photography | Brisbane Creative Blog Wedding Photographer

Shot with my Mamiya 645 on Kodak Tri-X BW Film and developed/scanned at the amazing RPL

Susie / Dallys Model Management

 

We recently took some time off and travelled up the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and had a few days to just eat, drink and be merry with some good friends of ours.

Whilst we were away we also took time out to reflect on the last few years and I couldn’t help but think more about a blog post I wrote a few months ago titled “lost”.

I wrote a post about being ‘lost’ as a photographer and the process in which Tenielle and I ‘found’ ourselves creatively. I didn’t realise at the time that this post would resinate with so many other photographers and creatives alike.

It did get me thinking though.

Thinking about sharing more of our experiences with other likeminded photographers that may be struggling with the same feelings we had when we first started.

The first thought that naturally came to mind was to offer a workshop. However after thinking more about this I realised that we could offer something more personal.

Something that isn’t just about inspiration, but about change.

Changing the way you look at your creativity, your business and yourself.

A rediscovery call it.

Don’t get me wrong, this experience won’t be all about us.

It’s going to be about you.

About ending your creative block as a photographer and as a business. A personal mentor session.

To start, we’re posting our travel dates as we’ll likely start offering these sessions whilst we’re abroad this year.

We’re of course living and shooting in Brisbane (and surrounds) all other times in between and around the dates below…

Adelaide = February 9 – 13th

Sydney = February 23rd – 27th

South Africa & Botswana = June 9 – 29^th

UK & Italy = June 30^th – 16^th of July

NYC, Florida and California  = 17^th of July – 19^th of August

Sydney = August 20th -28th

We’ll also be accepting a limited number of wedding and portrait assignments whilst we’re traveling, so if our work resonates with you and our travel dates match, we’d love to chat.

P.S Our little holiday snaps were taken on our Instax.

I’m not one to put myself out there but the reaction to our re-brand was an eye opener for me. Tenielle and I are still digesting it all however we couldn’t be happier with our new site and our decision to move back to film.

What I realised though, is that there’s a lot of people out there desperately seeking to ‘find’ themselves creatively, particularly in our industry. The rapid progress in photographic technology has allowed more people than ever to take what used to be a profession mastered by few, and has made it available to the masses.

This isn’t a bad thing by any means but there is something to be said about that.

The mass distribution of information largely brought on by the development of the internet has taken our industry and many other creative industry’s to whole new levels. Again, this has been a good thing in many ways.

However, you can have too much of a good thing. Too much information.

Too much information means one doesn’t have to think for themselves anymore. One no longer has to find the answer to a question by trial and error, if you’re stuck, just look it up on the web. And if it’s on the web, then it must be the right. Right?

Wrong.

The internet can be as misleading, if not worse than a newspaper or television. It’s too easy to jump online, start reading what other photographers are doing and decide it must be good, adopting it into your process. Not giving it enough thought as to whether or not it’s good for you.

Before you know it you’ve lost yourself, your creativity and how you see the world.  You’re left feeling even more confused than before. Left wondering, how can I get my work to look like that, or feeling like you can never achieve what your peers seem to so effortlessly.

It can become a vicious cycle of self-doubt and leaves one feeling uninspired, inadequate, lost.

In the context of this article I’m urging photographers to question everything.

Experiment. Look outside of your industry for your inspiration. What are you about, what are your experiences, what do you love? I’m not even talking about photography, just who you are in everyday life.

If you don’t know how to do something, try to figure it out yourself before asking your peers or looking it up on the web. This will help you grow and come into your own stride. Who knows, maybe you will develop your own method? Something no one else has done before.

The reality is though, that only 20% of people will ever lead an industry and 80% will follow.

If you’re satisfied with being the 80% that’s totally OK. Each to their own.

However, if you want to grow creatively, find your “own thing”, then dig deep and fail.

Try something new and fail.

Learn from it.

Try again and fail.

Continue learning.

This process is slow but the end result is not disappointing.

All of the sudden you’ll find yourself coming into your own stride, no longer anxious about what other people are doing, just focused on your own findings.

Now, please don’t get me wrong. I’m NOT writing this because I think people are copying us. We’re a very small drop in a very large pond of talent.

These are just my thoughts and some tips for people who may feel like they’re stuck in a rut. We’ve been there plenty of times and this is the process that helped us get out and stay out.

I have more to say on this subject but I’m not very good at expressing myself in writing. But at least this is a start, although it’s left me exhausted. Until then, if this helps any of you out there that are feeling a little lost, even one of you. It was worth it.

Just know, you’re certainly not alone. 

- Seth