It's really easy to bury your head in the sand when life gets in the way. Why bother with the things you want to do, when the things you have to do seem insurmountable. Especially when you feel like crap!
Sharing my feelings with everyone about my experiences over the last few months was not an easy thing to do, but it has been such an overwhelmingly positive experience. Putting those words down to share with everyone had some unexpected benefits for me, it really did allow me to rid myself of some of the frustration, anger and disappointment that comes with living through an experience such as Skin Cancer.
I sincerely thank everyone who read my first blog, and to those who reached out with a message, it meant a great deal to me. Thank you. It genuinely made the last few months feel more like a shared experience, with so many others having made similar journeys.
So much has changed for me in the last few weeks. I've gone from having no inspiration at all to capture any photos, to feeling energized and passionate about photography again. In the space of a few short week's photography has again become my outlet, my creative means to express myself and share my vision of the world around me. Over this period of time, I have rediscovered just how beneficial this artform is to me and many others.
One of the hardest things I have found when you lose your drive and passion for taking photos, is where and how do you relight that flame? Do you go back and revisit your regular locations, that have given you so much joy and so many opportunities or do you try and break new ground? There are pro's & cons for each.
I went a step further back than that and took a look at my equipment. Those that know me will know that my philosophy on camera gear is this. High end equipment will not make you a better photographer on its own, but it does allow you greater control and flexibility when capturing images. I have updated all of my equipment over the last two years but for one missing piece. My sports and wildlife camera really did need to be upgraded. I have been using the Canon 80D and the Canon 1DmkIV, both are very good cameras in their own right, albeit getting old now compared to the current technology.
So, I said goodbye to my Canon 80D, it was the first camera that I ever fell in love with but keeping it seemed pointless. Better to allow someone else the opportunity to enjoy using it as I have. Enter the Canon EOS R7, a truly remarkable camera that is a joy to use. One of my favorite photography activities is bird photography and this camera was made for birding. Spending time customizing the R7 was the start of this resurgence for me, a new camera in hand and the opportunity to begin learning how to use it quickly started the fire in the belly.
I travelled up to Mount Barker, to the amazing Laratinga Wetlands to spend some time exploring. It's such a beautiful location even without a camera in hand and it didn't take long for the birds to do their thing. I really feel connected with an area when capturing birds. Finding a good space to shoot from is the first step, sitting and watching the birds go about their business allows you time to really breathe and soak up the location. It is a genuinely relaxing experience.
With my camera set and the birds, well doing bird things, it's time to snap away. This is where you can lose hours to this genre of photography. Which I did! But what a useful exercise in helping to relight the fire for creativity, and it's not about taking photos that will sell or be commercially successful. It's about photography itself, the process and getting myself back out there.
'Out on a Limb' - Canon EOS R7 with 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM
So, with my first meaningful shoot out the way and being really happy with the results, where to next? There are so many places I could turn my attention to. It started with a good old fashioned road trip with a friend. A drive down along the stunning Fleurieu Peninsula with my friend Mel (who isn't a photographer) and the kids. This was definitely outside of my usual photography plans to take the kids with me! Noisy, demanding little creatures typically have no place on a photography road trip! But this was different, it was more of a casual drive than a serious photography trip. I just happened to have my gear with me.
My friend had never really seen much of the Fleurieu, so driving from place to place and sharing this amazing part of the world with them really did help me to rediscover it too. We didn't set out to visit a specific place, or even have concrete plans. We just followed the road and went where it took us! This is the essence of exploring, and so much of my early photography journey was spent just driving around searching for locations. It's as if I'd forgotten how vital this piece of the puzzle is for a photographer. It was such a terrific experience.
We visited a number of places throughout the day, Port Willunga Beach, Myponga Dam, Myponga Beach, Ingalalla Falls, Bartons Forest, and Lady Bay to mention a few. The Fleurieu Peninsula is a special place, most photographers know this to be true! I didn't take photos at every location, but I did take something from each location, either an image or planning an idea for a future visit.
There is a quote from a women named Cheryl Strayed, that we should 'Put ourselves in the way of beauty'. 'There is always a sunrise and always a sunset, it's up to you to choose to be there for it'. Cheryl wrote the book 'Wild' which was adapted into a movie of the same name, it's one of my favorites. This idea that we can choose to put ourselves in the way of something beautiful was never more obvious to me than whilst on this road trip. Just get out there and be in these places, the rest will take care of itself!
'Smoke on the Water' - Myponga Beach - Canon EOS R5 with 16-35 F4L
'Into the Woods' - Bartons Forest- DJI Mavic Mini 2
'Lady Bay Blues' - Canon EOS R5 with 16-35F4L
Friends have played such an instrumental part in getting me out of the house, back on the road & behind the camera again. These images are an example of what I've been able to capture over the last few weeks. I feel they are among some of my strongest works because they have come from the right place. A place of exploration and pure joy in just taking photos for fun. A big thank you to my friend Mel for her encouragement & support.
Another friend that I would like to mention and thank is Adam Frazer. Adam is a highly talented photographer, and we enjoy hanging out and capturing photos together. Every week Adam would get in touch, sometimes more, to see how I was feeling. He'd ask if I wanted to head out, the answer was typically 'no thanks'. Throughout this period of time when I haven't been feeling up to getting out, I have tried to at least learn a few things that would help me when I was feeling better. I have spent a lot of time learning more about my 'Star Adventurer 2i' which is used for Astro Photography. This is a genre I really enjoy, but like most things it is time consuming, and you can't do it at a time that is convenient!
Adam asked me to head out to the forest for some Astro Photography. After feeling the creativity flowing back from my recent trip down south, I thought to myself, why not! I wanted to keep that feeling alive. We met with Adam Walters, another photographer whom I have great respect for but had never met, we'd always just spoken via social media. So, we find ourselves deep in Mount Crawford Forest, it's chilly but not as cold as perhaps we were expecting. Stepping out of the car and into the darkness, I look up and see the stars and immediately know that I am where I am meant to be. Although tired and not bubbling with energy, the sight of the stars in the night sky just fills my cup, and I am ready to start the task of aligning my Star Adventurer, a process that isn't always fun or easy.
For the next few hours we stood around chatting, talking about anything and everything. It was a great night. I had put into practice everything I had been learning over the summer for astro photography. Fingers crossed I would come back with an image I was happy with. Taking my astro photography to the next level is one of my goals for this coming year. After processing the image on the following day (after several coffee's) I was excited. I was able to put together a tracked image made up of multiple images with the sky and foreground highly detailed. A night well spent in the dark, with good people and further encouragement to just keep going...
'Dawn of a new Galaxy' - Canon EOS R with Sigma 35mm f1.4 ART & Star Adventurer 2i
Sky - 15 Images tracked and stacked
Ground - 4 images stacked
Processed in LR and PS
The last fortnight has been all about rediscovering the journey and not focusing on the destination. Not just with photography, but with life also. Remembering to enjoy the little things, if we take care of those, the big things start to get easier as well. I'm only a couple of weeks away from getting some results from my recent treatment. I'm not going to sit around waiting, the outcome will be the same either way. The great outdoors is calling, and I am ready to get back out into the wild.
Thanks for reading, until next time.
Keith
P.S - If you want the absolute best pizza I have ever experienced, check out Fast Eddie's in Normanville. You won't be disappointed...