Photography is the story I fail to put into words.

I suppose photography has always been in my life. When we traveled my dad would have a camera and a camcorder. He’d let me choose one for the day to use and he’d take the other and when I think about it now, he put a lot of trust in my small hands to work the Sony camcorder or his Nikon camera. Thanks, Dad. 🙂

When I got my first job I spent my first pay cheque on a Canon SD5000 – one of the first digital cameras with a preview screen and 12MP. Now I had my own camera to play with and I took it on every trip. Between my best friend and I, we’d take at least 3,000 pictures just for a one week vacation.

There’s absolutely no restraint whatsoever…

When I switched jobs and found myself with a pay raise, I spent my first bonus on a new DSLR. It was mostly an impulse buy, I’d say. I’d been wandering in and out of the camera store on my lunch break for months and when a Christmas bundle appeared, I snatched it up. I purchased a Nikon D5000. They don’t even make those anymore. Then…

I spent a few years hating my job and the toxic environment I’d gotten involved in and spent much of my time figuring out a way to leave. But I felt defeated and I couldn’t see myself doing anything different. I didn’t feel qualified in doing anything else and starting over felt like a waste of time and a waste of a career that I’d been building. But walking into that building every day was increasingly difficult and slowly drained any energy I had left, my camera collecting dust.

Eventually, I finally found the courage to leave.

I spent my time off sleeping, catching up on shows and spending time going grocery shopping and eating breakfast with my family. I cracked open Lightroom and dusted old folders of unedited photos. That made me pick up my camera again and it was like saying hi to an old friend.

I’ve been through lots of ups and downs with my camera in the last 3 years with thoughts and emotions ranging from ‘This is f*cking awesome’ to ‘I’m never gonna make anything out of this’, but as clichéd as it is, it’s the journey that matters.

Because in these three years I’ve realized that photography has become the framework of how I approach life.

Photography is my way back to simplicity — to highlight the essentials.

When I’m out taking photos and walking through the landscape, it shifts my mind back to what’s important and noise falls off like the dried dirt on my boots at the end of a good hike. It’s satisfying.

The way I find simplicity is different in the way you might find simplicity but the results, I think, are usually the same. No one turns back and says, I would prefer if that was more complicated (unless you’re like my genius friend and solves math equations for fun). Because the thing is, simplicity isn’t easy to come by and the simplest things are often the most difficult things to see, understand and keep. 

This is what’s really informed me of the kind of photographer I want to be and continues to fuel me to improve. These are my 3 principles to share:

1. Practice listening to your gut to know when you’ve got the golden shot. If you feel like where you’re set up isn’t the place to be, move around and get comfortable with listening to your gut. It leads you to undiscovered places and unforgettable shots — with or without your camera.
2. Play with light and shadows. Light and shadow dance with each other. One without the other is overwhelming. Take your surroundings in and see where the light shines and the shadows it casts. When you learn to embrace and work with both light and shadow you’ll discover something new all the time.
3. Notice the subtleties. Sometimes a shift in body positioning or footing changes something in view – adding or subtracting something you didn’t see before.

I keep these three things in mind every time I shoot. It’s helped me create more intentional shots and that’s how I remember each one so clearly. In life, it reminds me to be more intentional with my actions, words, and decisions and keeps me on the road of improvement. Try, try and try again.

Photography has lead me down paths I didn’t imagine before. I’ve traveled to places I never thought I’d go and it’s changed a hermit introvert to a – well less hermit-like introvert – meeting many new friends along the way. My journey isn’t anything special in any shape or form but it is my journey to explore, edit and enjoy each step of the way.

Wishing much kindness your way,

M.