Originally posted October 13, 2023

The last few years have been very difficult for me. I tried a career change which did not go well and was stuck in a minimum wage job to make ends meet. My migraines, which had gotten bad several years ago, were terrible but things got even worse when severe fatigue and joint pain hit. Something strange was going on and after a chat with a specialist, I left my job and tried to figure out what to do next. What no one ever tells you about chronic illness is just how much it messes with your mind. It took time to find the right supports in the system that I needed and eventually, a bit of a plan was forming. What do I already know how to do? Photography and music, of course! Just as I started though, the pandemic hit. I still managed to get a good start though and for a while, things seemed alright. Unfortunately, being immunocompromised in a world where a level 3 virus runs rampant has been soul crushing.

Why am I telling you this? Being left behind, in limbo, is painful. The isolation people claimed they had a few years back is magnified for those of us who are both sick and scientifically literate. (My degree is in microbiology.) Needless to say, it’s affected my photography and music dramatically.

So, with this being a much quieter year for me artistically and socially, I’ve taken the opportunity to try some new approaches to my art and my life in general. I’m not too sure how the internet knew but I started noticing more workshops popping up for finding yourself through art. Some of these were definitely on the hoaky side but some have been interesting. Maybe not the life changing approach they claim but I suppose all that’s hidden in the paid courses.

One that I wanted to share with my dear photography fans came from Laura Valenti of sight + insight. Since my first photography class in high school, I noticed that photography is an art with a lot of attitude and not in a good way. Open any photography magazine and look at the “Dos and Don’ts” section. Half of the photos in the “don’t” section have little wrong with them. But no, there are certain rules of exposure and composition that apparently must always be adhered to and if you don’t, you will be looked down on. And don’t even get me started with the obsession with having the “right” gear! This is a big part of why I sometimes put away my camera for long stretches. Laura’s 4-day challenge was a great reminder that all that static is unnecessary and even harmful to the wonderful art that photography is.

For this challenge, I tried to keep my focus (no pun intended) on the idea of change. I had been walking down memory lane just before starting the challenge and I couldn’t help but think about change. Where I have been, where I am, and where I’m going as well as the changes that are happening all around me have been hard to ignore. My equipment for this challenge was my Google Pixel 7XL and my Nikon D7200 with a 50 mm lens.

Taking pictures for the sake of taking pictures is always fun and while my personal Instagram account is full of random photography, this felt a bit different. It didn’t matter if the size was right or if my focus was off. I just had fun taking pictures of what was around me for those four days. Putting aside the obsession with photographic perfection to appease the artsy-fartsy crowd and just concentrate on what I saw and liked is liberating and I’m tempted to do something like this again once a month as a sort of artistic cleanse.

I hope you enjoy my gallery of pictures and I look forward to my next photography challenge!

#photography #yxephotographer #findyourself #freedonthroughart #healingart