I've never really been one for resolutions or goals during the New Year season— in fact I've often found them cheesy and unnecessary. Why wait until a specific day to start improving and growing?

But after a year floating around trying to figure out where I am and what I want to do, I figured this is as good a time as any to codify the goals that have been bouncing around.

More Intentional

One of the things I've always loved about photography is that you can just go for a walk with your camera and, if you're looking hard enough, you can find something to shoot and make the light and environment work.

It's fun doing that but for me I've relied too heavily on it and honestly, it gets boring and creatively stagnant.

Granted there's a difference between going on a backpacking trip and just taking random shots as I walk down the trail and sitting on the couch, looking around the room, finding something to shoot, and then playing around with the shots in Lightroom. For me it's lazy.

Anyway, my whole point is to take good pictures on purpose, to see the shot, set up the shot, and take the shot the way I want. If I end up getting something better then so be it as long as I get the shot I wanted, the way I wanted it.

To help, I've started a photo journal of all my photo shoots. Jotting down the technical aspects, the perspectives, the improvements and thoughts I should use for the next shoot, and just the feeling of the shoot itself should help me improve.

This also means pushing outside my comfort zone a little and involving other people in the process. It means asking more friends if they'll model for me (more on that later), it means finding businesses willing to work with me (more on that later as well), going to places I wouldn't normally go, or finding subjects I wouldn't normally focus on.

Portraits

I've touched on this a little in a previous post but I've always been shy. I don't really like interacting with people I don't know, I've always kept a pretty small circle of close friends, "flirting" usually involved awkward comments followed by an uncomfortable giggle.

Now contrast that with wanting to get better at portraits.

I think everyone reading this now understands why I'm much better at landscapes.

It's not just about the photos themselves though.

2020 was, arguably, one of the worst collective years that I can think of. A lot of us quarantined, a lot of us stayed away from face to face social interactions, and a lot of us were left to listen to our own thoughts.

If anyone else is even a little bit like me, they've had to deal with some of their inner demons. John Mulaney going back to rehab after almost a decade sober is a metaphor for the rest of us (though maybe not to the same extent).

I want the portraits I take to make people feel good being photographed, want them to feel good about themselves, in a sense remove some of those insecurities they might have.

I want people to feel human again and to feel great about who they are as a person.

Drone Shots

Here is where the learning curve gets very steep.

Drones are, in some ways, easier in terms of photos: you find the shot you want, you can see how it's going to turn out on the screen, and there's never a chance your horizon line will be uneven.

The difficult part comes in video footage. Getting it isn't the hardest, although timing can be difficult depending on what you're shooting.

It's editing the footage afterwards that's both time consuming, tedious, and difficult. Especially for someone who has never edited video. I've never even captured a whole lot of video other than on my cell phone.

I'll also have to get a commercial drone pilot's license which is also very time consuming but necessary according to the FAA.

However, the benefits, will far outweigh the pain in the ass it'll take to become proficient.

Real estate agents, electrical companies, tree service companies, small businesses are all looking for different footage and photos to promote their brands or sell their products.

In theory, the drone work would probably pay most of the bills I rack up from doing regular photography (particularly those long backpacking trips in the mountains).

Magic

Ok, this one seems a little bit... fanciful.

I recently watched a Masterclass put on by Penn and Teller (Teller speaks, it's really weird) and remembered my love of card tricks.

Since I have a niece and a nephew, the latter of whom is starting to understand more than just "food", "cry", and "sleep" so I figured it's a good time to learn some tricks to perform for the both of them. It's more of a "hobby goal" or a "read more" goal.

It's less a self-improvement goal and more of a fun thing to do with the family. I've already ordered a couple books and will likely be rewatching the Penn and Teller Masterclass.

All Year

It's going to be a long year; with vaccines being delayed, lockdowns still in effect for a lot of the country, and political drama that doesn't look like it's going away soon.

So really, I hope this site, my social media platforms, and any prints or calendars you might buy provide some sense of escape or relief from the realities of the world. I hope it gives you a sense of calm or inspires you in some way.

It's going to be a long year but I'll be here for all of it.

Keep your feet moving

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