Balancing Act

Currently I am working a “normal“ job all be it somewhat involved in the camera and photographic industry. Alongside this I am still trying to make photography projects and work hard to create bodies of work I am proud of. Both of these seem to take up most of my time and energy.

It is very much a delicate balance in trying to do all of this alongside live a life of “normality“. It’s hard and requires a lot of mental strength to not feel like you are constantly struggling to keep afloat in all aspects of the weird life you have chosen to live. However that is the important part to remember. You chose this. No one in life is forcing you to do anything within this life that you haven’t agreed to.

I find myself doing multiple things at once just to keep on top of all aspects. Take right now for example I am writing this blog post on my iPad whilst sat at work being paid to be here and answer emails. Don’t worry the job is seriously slow this time of year so I get a lot of time to just sit and wait for customers to reply.

This type of work suits me down to the ground as I enjoy being busy during the day with both my different “lives“ and then that allows me a few hours at home to relax and ground myself a bit more. I write all this to say if you are doing the freelance thing on the side or even just working on other projects that are totally unpaid and out of love away from your standard 9-5, please don’t feel like you are doing poorly or not up to it. We all struggle with these thoughts and you aren’t alone in thinking you aren’t working hard enough. You are doing just fine and I’m sure the hours or even minutes you are putting into your passion will pay off. You just need to give it some time.

All things worth doing are worth doing well and that takes time. My last project that I am truly proud of took me 5 years. When I compare this to some of the “work“ I did that only took me around 3 hours to shoot maybe another 5 hours to edit the quality doesn’t even come close let alone the actual meaning of the images and the story I was able to tell.

Since I have left that fast paced photography world and been able to take my time knowing the pressure is completely off I have found myself change both in a shooter and in a person. I write lists and actually complete them fully rather than somewhat rush through them just to get it out of the way. I also shoot a lot less. Nothing wrong with that at all by the way. Not shooting is often the correct choice when it comes to a scene or a moment. Take your time visualise the scene on the film stock you have in. Is it worth it ( most of the time probably not) I took a photo this morning and I already know the shot will be thrown away or maybe used in some form of a collage art shot. Basically making stock images for “fake“ double exposures.

I am very happy with the slow life and even aim to slow down photography even more shooting fewer frames but ones I know are solid. Skateboarding is definitely going to be the minor break in that philosophy as the fast paced action and the somewhat unknown nature of the tricks mean you need to try and capture everything as best you possibly can. However the more time I take to compose the frame and work out my timings before the shot is taken definitely allows for me to make the better work. Once again this is the balancing act I find myself in. Balance work and passion, balance capture and compose. It all goes hand in hand and if you work out how to master it please write me an email to let me know.

:)