I haven’t picked up a camera in a hot minute, which you have probably noticed if you’re a regular reader here. It’s been stock photos to the max.
And I don’t love that. I don’t love using other people’s work on top of my own. Maybe that’s a pride thing, maybe it’s a consistency thing. Either way, it’s been a long time since I’ve picked up my camera, and my craft shows it.
At my previous job, I had a camera in my hand nearly every day of the week. Photography was a skill I honed and got extremely good at with the consistency I was operating at. But now, I wonder what it will be like next time I pick up a camera.
How foreign will that body feel?
What will I see outside of the viewfinder?
Will I still be able to make my subject feel comfortable and confident?
Will I feel confident?
There’s something to be said for consistency in our skills. Sure, our interests fade and sharpen, but once we have those skills and have worked hard to obtain them, it’s a shame to lose them.
Maybe it’s piano or guitar? (Two more skills I have lost)
Maybe it’s cooking?
Maybe it’s writing?
Maybe it’s running or exercising?
We all have skills, and we are all at the mercy of time and how often we can use them, hone them and become masters. So I ask you, what’s your skill or that one that has faded away?
-Cliff
Cliff’s Note: Find an excuse to do what you love.