We always end up doing what we are second best at..

It seems I have been reflecting a lot lately as I am sure we all do. Having worked as an artist, for what seems like forever, has often been a rocky ride. Has it been worth it, who knows, and I am not about to go down that road here..
Once upon a time I was a big time black and white hand printer. Worked for them all, Bailey, Averdon, Testino, you name them. Was good at it too, but I really grew to hate it. It was almost like a curse being naturally good at something, but not wanting to do it. I wanted to be a photographer through and through. After thinking about this for a while I remembered a Marcel Proust quote from my studies;
"We always end up doing the thing we are second best at."
 And that my friends could not be more true, for me at least. But I also remember something my father told me on my eighteenth birthday after a couple of drinks;
"Don't be like me Son and end up doing a job you despise for thirty years. I wanted to be a writer, not a @@@@ing tool holder!"

Let us continue...

As you will no doubt know, I done a project recently relating to my childhood memories. My mistake was making it part of my MA (now history thankfully). The Tutors simply did not get my vision and I may as well of been photographing Ant Turds. Looking back at the work now with a clear mind, I think its pretty good, so much so I may continue with it rather than it becoming  another shelved project...

“You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant.”
Harlan Ellison.

Add initials, increase prices, bump up CV, get an job..

Gathering Storm Clouds..

There was a time when the gathering storm clouds would have me loading up film and heading for the door. A dramatic change in the weather was the only excuse I needed to get jiggy with artistic visions. I recall reading a piece on Joel Meyerowitz and how he didn't have the photographic energy now to shoot as he once had done referring to his Cape Light back in the eighties. I guess it's only natural that one becomes a little less exited over time. In truth I think it has become much harder to create work now simply because I ask too many questions before hand like the What, Where, and Why, rather than What If. You see for me it's not the energy that effects me, it's just everything else.

A frosty chair....

The downfall of crap..

You know I never liked Jessops. Never bought a camera there. Never bought film there. In fact the only thing I remember purchasing was a cable release, and that fell apart after a few twiddles. The teenage staff, the horrid uniforms, the over lit interiors, and of course the oodles of crap filling the shelves. I shall not miss the place one bit. What is does bring to light though, as if we didn't already know, is that the photee times are certainly changing, but that's what you get when a phone takes pictures and mice sell cameras (I refer here to a computer mouse).
With such fast advances in this digital age I wonder if anything will be around long enough so someone can master it.... Probably not.