Six things from 2022

Well, here we are again. Rapidly heading towards the end of the year. Which can mean only one thing…a few reflections on the year just gone. So, with no further delay, six things I’m taking from the last year.

Street Photography

I really feel like my street photography has improved a lot this past year, to the extent that, towards the end of the year, I started to feel it’s becoming my main type of photography. However, I think that’s largely down to the time of year and the type of street photography I’ve enjoyed. As the nights have drawn in, I’ve really enjoyed shooting on the streets in the evenings. I tend to find so many more opportunities than during the daytime to create interesting photos. I think this particularly comes down to a combination of the vibe at night, but also that there are great opportunities for more interesting and abstract photography than during the day. For example, in winter the cold evenings and warm interiors often leads to condensation on bar/restaurant/cafe windows which, for me, makes for some interesting abstract photos. Of course, some times evening shoots can leave you going home empty-handed. The reliance on light and, from my point of view, striking a balance between too many people and too few, can make some evening photowalks a bit of a drag. But when they pay off, they seem to really pay off.

I’m also finding with my night street photography that I am a bit more adventurous with my edits. Pushing it a little outside the realms of what it looked like in the moment. I’ve been pretty chuffed to have a few people make reference to “blade runner” in relation to my night photography, which is a huge compliment to me as it’s one of my favourite films. Obviously, the streets of East Kent bear no relation to the street scenes in Ridley Scott’s masterpiece, but pushing those edits so they resemble that kind of imagery does, I think, give that extra atmosphere that my daytime street photography often lacks.

Autumn Photography

It’s become somewhat of a ritual now…as we enter October and peak autumnal colours, every single weekend is spent at the local woods, looking for compositions and hoping to capture those beautiful, vivid autumn colours. It’s fairly typical for me to spend about 3-4 hours in the woods every Sunday at this time of year. Far more time than I would ordinarily spend and, to be fair, pretty much at the limits of what I can get away with without creating an issue at home. There’s no better place to be, in my mind, if you want to be out taking photos in the autumn, than the woods. And if you get some fog or mist thrown into the mix too…even better!

This year, I have really felt that my woodland photography has improved a lot. Every year I feel I am making progress, but this year in particular I came home with a host of autumn woodland photographs that I was really proud of. I think part of this comes down to better editing, but I also think my composition has improved and the technical aspects have improved too. Of course, we’re all on a journey of improvement so I suspect I will feel that next year’s are better than this year’s but nonetheless, I am certainly happy with what I’ve taken in 2022.

Film Photography

This year I’ve also rediscovered film photography. Ok, it’s with a point and shoot camera, but it’s been interesting using the Mju II again after 20 years. There’s been a lot to [re]learn about shooting with film, not least the “decisive moment”, but it has been an enjoyable experience so far. For now, the Mju II is purely a carry-around camera when I’m travelling to and from work. Picking up on opportunities as and when I stumble upon them. I try not to be trigger happy (it’s too expensive to be firing away left, right and centre after all), and really try to pick my moments. It’s been a challenge learning not to shoot too early, and not to shoot too late. But it has been fun and I have been pleased with some of the results whilst I figure it all out. A second film has just been completed and is due to be sent for processing…let’s see how that turns out.

Fuji 33mm f1.4

This is, without doubt, the most expensive lens I have ever bought, and it’s been worth every penny. Having started getting into some low light street photography, I began to feel like a 1.4 lens would be a good move. I took a look at a few options, including the classic Fuji 35mm 1.4, but in the end I decided to go for the brand new 33mm. I don’t regret it for an instant. It’s been a fantastic lens so far, at a focal length I really enjoy working with (not least because it means I can take a few steps back from my subject). Since buying it, my other Fuji lenses (the 23mm f2 and 35mm f2) have barely got a look in. In fact, I’m already mulling over the 16mm 1.4 or 18mm 1.4 to compliment it when I’m out on the streets. I won’t get either any time soon, but either one of those are definitely on my wishlist.

As for the 33mm, it’s incredibly sharp and although it’s a fair bit bigger than the f2s, it’s not a chore to carry around. I’ve happily shot with it all day long and not had a problem. I’m not one for fixating on gear, but it’s certainly one of those lenses where you just want to get out and use it. When a piece of kit makes you want to go out and take photos, you know it’s a winner.

Getting back into blogging

I’ve been blogging in various guises now for just short of twenty years. But I’ve really dropped the habit in recent years. Time was I used to almost blog daily. Surprisingly, kids coming along kinda had an impact on that, and as they grew older, I spent less and less time sitting down at a computer for an hour or two and writing whatever I wanted to write. With the advent of opening an online store, I realise now that it might be helpful to start blogging more regularly, not just to share my photography and my thoughts on photography, but also to help promote this website, draw in traffic and all that yucky marketing stuff which comes with selling products. And so here I am, blogging more regularly. I’m aiming to make 8pm on a Wednesday my standard blog post publishing time, and will promote these posts on all the usual social media platforms. Any shares, likes or subscriptions to my blog would be welcome of course!

Online Store

Of course the biggest deal for me this year was opening a store selling prints. It’s not something I want to get too hung up about, it’s just there to highlight what I consider my “best” work and make it easier for people who would like to purchase a print. Ultimately, I don’t want to pressure myself into making it a big deal, so it’s there, people can buy prints, I’ll promote it periodically, but I won’t stress if I don’t sell [m]any. Let’s see if I sell any from the store in 2023!

And with that…onward to 2023. Hope you all have a great new year and the very best wishes for 2023.

I could make money off this, but...

It’s been a very long time since I wrote a blog. Not since August 2020 if the dates on previous posts are to be believed (I guess I can believe them?). Maybe writing more blog posts should be my new year resolution…that I carefully abandon after a little more than two weeks of effort. Or alternatively, maybe I should just not commit to stuff and do things as and when I feel like it. Which sounds much more liberating and a lot less like doing something just because. I guess already it is beginning to show that I really haven’t written a blog post in a long time…look at the state of this opening paragraph.

Anyway… (three sets of ellipsis already - maybe I’ve got back into the swing of things quicker than I thought)

The real reason for this long overdue blog post (or, blog post), is that something has been swirling around in my mind for a while now, something I have been trying to figure out about where I’m at, and where I want to be. In terms of my photography. Well, this is a photography blog after all.

I’ve been working hard on my photography for some time now. It’s something that gives me pleasure and, importantly, gives me a bit of time and space on my own (something I have always very much cherished). Over time, I’ve kinda taken it more and more seriously (hence a website dedicated to my photography I guess). So seriously, I’ve periodically pondered whether I may get to the stage at some point where I want to give everything up and just make photography my main source of income. But do I ever really want to do that? I’m not sure.

Something that I’ve been reflecting on a lot recently, is a tweet that was posted towards the end of last year:

Stop seeing someone’s hobby then immediately saying, “You can make money off this. Why don’t you sell it!”

Go lay down.

— The Nap Ministry (@TheNapMinistry) December 26, 2021

Now, I’ve had some lovely, encouraging words over the past couple of years about my photography. Usually prompted by me pondering out loud whether or not to more seriously try to sell my work (nothing like seeking out a bit of reassurance to boost the old ego periodically). And I have periodically seriously considered whether I make more of an effort, have some kind of shop element to this website, and start to more actively sell my work, but…

I think in many ways I kinda like things as they are now. I go out, take photographs, if someone is interested in buying one, I’m open to doing so and will take the steps necessary to professionally print and deliver my work. I’ve even been approached (twice) to have my work in publications. I like this way of working. It’s less about using my work to make money, and more about going out and enjoying the art. I am not putting pressure on myself to get “bangers” I can sell. I’m just enjoying getting out there and learning and developing the craft. I don’t have a professional quality printer at home (because £££s) and so I have to rely on a print service. Which is fine. But I can’t help but think it will be kinda stressful if I start dealing with an increased number of orders (not that I’m expecting hundreds obvs) and having to liaise with a print service and then organise the posting of the work (the costs and the logistics of it all make my head spin).

Listening to professionals talk about their life also puts me off a little. You think being a professional landscape photographer (for example) would mean freedom to go out whenever and be out there all the time, just taking photographs. The reality is quite different. Sure, it looks like a cool existence on their various YouTube channels. Driving off to some Epic Location for some Epic Light and capturing some Epic Photos. But I know that’s not the reality of their lives. There’s paperwork, emails, the ever dissolving line that divides work and personal…I dunno. Is it really “better”? Or is it “better” to just go out and enjoy my photography, produce work that I am proud of without pressures, without a profit motive, and sell work on the basis of enquiries from people interested in buying something? Is it better to be reactive or proactive in selling my work?

I appreciate there are good counter-arguments to this line of thinking. By selling your work you can invest more in your equipment and produce work that one might feel is better. It can be an investment into getting more out of your hobby, rather than a pure profit-making exercise. But is that a good enough reason? If I am happy with the work I produce, why should I worry about getting better cameras/lenses/gear? Shouldn’t I just make the most of what I’ve got?

Ultimately, it’s a hobby. It’s something that gives me time, space and peace amidst all the chaos enveloping all of our lives. It’s something that’s distinct from my work life, it isn’t about earning a living, it’s about enjoying the living. It’s time, once or twice a week, where I can just be. I could make money off this, but do I really want to? I don’t know. I really don’t. I’m not opposed to the idea entirely, but I’m equally not “sold” (pardon the pun) on it being something I should do. It’s something I’m sure I will continue to weigh up and debate internally for some time yet.

Of course, if I put a shop on this website by the end of the year, you’ll know I’ve come down on “fuck it…SHOW ME THE MONEY! I DON’T CARE ANYMORE.” Hell, just give me the Thomas Heaton life without the paperwork, emails and fuzzy lines between work and family life please.

What kind of photographer even am I?

Those of you who follow me on social media will know I am currently in Spain on holiday. At the time of writing, I’m just about coming to the end of the two week break and mentally preparing for the journey home (and the impending 14 day quarantine we will have to endure - you can read more on my thoughts on this here). Obviously, part of my mental preparation is sitting down in my in-laws’ study and writing this blog post. Horses for courses I guess…

One of the things that I am forced to confront whenever we are in southern Spain (Sevilla to be precise), is my approach to photography. Particularly in terms of the landscape/seascape photography I’ve come to enjoy over the past few years in various part of Kent. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?), landscape photography here in and around Sevilla is a bit…well…tricky. Whilst the sunrises are very do-able this time of year (currently around 0730 which is very pleasurable!), there is so little in the way of cloud and interest in the sky, it makes it very difficult to get interesting landscape shots. Effectively every day is cloudless and hot. The sun rises - there’s no cloud. The sun sets - there’s no cloud. The sun is in the sky - it’s hard to bear being anywhere for anything beyond an hour or two (by way of example, it was 28 degrees at sunrise the other day…and easily 40 in the sun during the day). As a result, I have to adapt and make use of the other opportunities available to me and that means…street photography.

Not long before we left for Spain, I took the plunge and bought a Fuji XT-3. I’d been in love with it since I first saw it a couple of years ago, and it became my dream camera. Having cashed in my season ticket, I figured it was now or never. So I picked one up along with a 23mm lens (35mm equivalent full frame). I should point out here this isn’t to replace my Nikon D7200 (which I love). No, this is to complement it. I love the D7200 for landscapes and seascapes. It fulfils all my needs on that front. What it is less good for, is carrying around as a casual camera for on the fly photos and street/travel photography. Which is where the XT-3 comes in.

Although Andalucia is a struggle for landscape photography (at least when we come here…I know some great spots, but they don’t really work this time of year due to the sky etc), it comes into it’s own for street photography. The harsh light makes for lots of interesting deep shadows, making for good potential compositions (whether I see them or not is a different matter…). This is particularly helped in Sevilla with the interesting architecture acting as a backdrop (particularly handy with a 35mm equivalent lens).

In terms of my approach, I’m not the most confident of people, so I am not so keen on outright approaching people, but equally I’m nervous about the potential for people to approach me and ask what I am doing (funnily enough yesterday a Spaniard was shouting at me because he thought I was taking pictures of him when I was actually taking photos of some bikes!). So I tend to find places where there is an interesting backdrop or interesting light and use that as the composition, waiting for people to walk through. I make it easier on myself by telling myself I am taking pictures of buildings or light as my subject and if someone walks into the frame, then they are purely incidental. I’m not sure whether this is a good approach overall, but I feel it is helpful as I am feeling my way around street photography.

Experimenting on the streets has got me thinking a lot as well about the old question of “what type of photographer am I?”. I realise I describe myself as a landscape/seascape/street photographer, but I also like woodland photography (which I guess is a subset of landscape) and abstract. So what’s my genre? Maybe it’s just “photography”? I have been thinking about this a lot since watching one of Sean Tucker’s videos (see below), and I’m thinking less about what kind of pigeon hole do I want to be in, and more, what kinds of things do I enjoy taking photos of. Other than sports and wildlife, I don’t think there is much I don’t like taking photos of.

It’s very easy to get into that mindset of curating a brand. Making sure your social media is consistent and, particularly with Instagram, ensuring your feed has a particularly style. But does that really matter? Maybe if you are a professional with a particular approach that will attract clients looking for a specific thing, but for the rest of us, surely it’s a case of, as Sean Tucker says, taking whatever photographs makes us happy? If they garner likes, great. If they result in approaches for work, even better. But for me, my focus is on trying to learn new skills, improve my photography in different ways and, ultimately, enjoy what I’m doing. It’s one of the reasons I’ve not heavily gone down the road of selling prints. I feel that getting in too deep with additional pressures will result in me losing my love for getting out with my camera. I don’t want to get bogged down into what sells and what doesn’t, and so I am very much taking the approach of “if you like a photo and would like a print, feel free to drop me a line and we can chat about it”.

The bottom line for me is photography is about getting out there and taking the photographs I enjoy, in whatever genre that so happens to be. Some people will always try to fit others into categories (as well the photos themselves), but as a wise man once said: oh well, whatever, never mind.

Looking back on 2019 and looking forward to 2020...

A little later than I had originally intended (I should know by now that Christmas and New Year with two kids means that time is in short supply for things like this!), but thought I’d briefly reflect on 2019 and think about what’s next for 2020. Let’s start by looking back…

On 2nd January 2019 I wrote a blog post out lining a few aims and objectives for the coming year, so how successful was I in achieving them?

1) Do more video work.

TICK. Well, I did do “more video work” in the sense I actually filmed, edited and published a YouTube video. My trip to Scotland in the summer of 2019 to meet my mum’s real family gave me the perfect opportunity to experiment with creating a short film, particularly as I went without my wife and children. I was quite pleased with the end result (see below), but I’ve not created anymore since.

2) More street photography.

TICK. I’ve done more street photography here and in Spain over the past 12mths, but I still need to improve my approach. I’m still very much on phase 1 and phase 2 (see here), but I feel like I’ve improved a bit in this area.

3) Print more.

FAIL. I had good intentions to print and keep photos in a scrapbook, but I’ve just not kept on top of this and I’ve not printed anything for months.

4) Blog more.

FAIL. Again, same as above. I had good intentions, but it’s just not happened.

5) Discover new locations.

TICK. I’ve tried a couple of new locations over the past 12mths (Botany Bay, Isle of Grain, Ashenbank Wood) but I do need to expand on this in 2020 and explore the county a bit more widely. I have some ideas in mind, but let’s see if I follow through on them.

6) Oh yeah, 365 Project type stuff.

SEMI-FAIL. Again, best intentions, but after over half the year I gave up and just lost all motivation. I think this wasn’t helped by restricting myself to black and white.

Over the course of 2019, I’ve really felt that my photography has improved a great deal and I’m starting to gain confidence in the quality of the images that I’ve created. I think partly this has been down to being better organised, particularly for sunrise shoots, as well as honing my technique. In terms of organisation, I’ve tried to make sure I am on location over half-an-hour before sunrise (rather than minutes before sunrise) as I appreciate now that often the best light is just before the sun peeps out over the horizon. I’ve also taken to making a hot breakfast in the morning and plonking it into a Therma-pot so that I can have breakfast on the go rather than leaving the house after I’ve eaten it. This has certainly helped to ensure that I arrive on location in good time and can concentrate on getting a good composition for that early morning light (as an aside, I still much prefer to sunrise to sunset).

To give an example of how I think I’ve improved, this is a shot from early 2019 taken in Dungeness (I arrived after the best light had happened):

And here’s one taken of the same boat in Dungeness, but this time I arrived in plenty of time before sunrise:

There’s probably not a whole lot in it, but I much prefer the second image to the first. I think I took it after the sun had risen (and therefore around the same time as the first), but because I had arrived early I had time to play around and get some different compositions and better evaluate the conditions, rather than rushing to get a shot before the best of the light had gone.

I also feel like my woodland photography improved greatly this year. We have some great local woods with lots of potential and plenty of silver birch trees dotted around (as well as wild deer, which is always breath-taking to see). For example, here are a few woodland shots I took in 2018:

And here are some taken in 2019:

I definitely feel there has been a big step forward there (to the extent that I even printed off one of the above and gave it to a family member as a gift for Christmas). I still feel I need to work it more, but I think spending virtually every weekend in the woods for the best part of a month really helped me to get a clearer sense of how to compose decent woodland shots.

Overall I feel strides have been made, and I am growing in confidence to the extent I am mulling over selling prints in 2020 (although it remains to be seen whether I am actually prepared to take that step just yet). The key for me has been getting out regularly, practicing all the time, working some scenes that I know well until I get shots that I am really happy with and being more organised in my trips out. And I haven’t even mentioned the biggest change in my shooting this year…

Early in 2019 I switched up my trusty D3200 for the D7200. A big leap in terms of what the camera does, but still a crop-sensor Nikon. I’ve been absolutely thrilled with the camera so far. Of course in many ways it’s not about the camera but the person behind it, but it’s undoubtedly the case that the D7200 has made a number of things easier. For example, the increased number of focus points have helped greatly (from 11 on the D3200 to 51), as has the resolution on live view (I’m better able to zoom in on screen and manually focus than I was on the D3200 which tended to look very fuzzy after hitting the zoom button a couple of times). Much as I loved the D3200, I certainly feel the D7200 has helped me to take things up a level.

As for 2020, I’m not sure where I’ll be 12mths from now (in an abstract rather than literal sense!). I want to start exploring the possibility of selling images, but I’m not going to commit to that just yet. I also want to challenge myself by exploring new locations and getting some new compositions. But beyond that, I think I just want to keep practicing, improving and keeping to my new regime of getting out early and not rushing my shots! We’ll see where that takes me…

All the best for 2020!

Goodbye 2018, Hello 2019

So I decided to write a blog post. I’ve not been doing too well on that recently. A quick look back shows that I kinda abandoned my posts on a trip to Spain after Part I. That’s not the best is it? It begs the question what is the point of having a blog if I don’t ever use it. So, I’m going to use it more. There. Straight off the bat. One New Year’s resolution established and committed to. I will blog more regularly.

This year I have been doing a lot of looking back. With my mother passing away in February, it’s only natural to spend a lot of time reflecting on the past. I don’t want to do that too much here. I’ve spoken about my mother and life and so on elsewhere, but it is important to acknowledge the sheer weight of the loss upon all aspects of my life, and the extent to which it continues to have an impact.

Looking back over the year in terms of my photography and I really feel like I’ve taken some big leaps forwards. Investing in some new gear (like, filters and stuff) has certainly helped to a degree, but the biggest impact has been the various YouTube channels I subscribe to. I’ve learnt so much from Thomas Heaton and Nigel Danson (for starters) that I feel like I have really come on in terms of technique and skills over the course of the year. I’m thinking about my compositions far more than I was in 2017. Now it’s much less a case of pointing and clicking, and far more thought around the composition of images (I still have some way to go obvs).

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Samphire How at sunset…with strategically placed sheep. Good work, sheep.

I’ve also pushed myself to try out things that I would never have been comfortable with in the past. Street portraits, for a start, were something I’d never have considered before, either because of the sheer fear of approaching strangers, or because of my concerns around privacy (which is a bit of a thing for me). Ok the results weren’t spectacular, but I was fairly happy with the images I got and I’ve learnt a bit more about taking portraits, something that isn’t something I’m generally that into.

I’ve also been getting my head around using an ultra wide-angle lens and thinking more about how I can put together interesting compositions using it. Alongside investment in some graduated neutral density filters, I feel like my landscape photos are getting better, I’m much happier with the images I’ve produced in 2018. I guess the fact I’ve printed some out, slapped them into framwes and chucked them on a couple of walls in the house says it all. My technique has definitely improved too. Rather than just flicking it onto auto-focus, I’m getting used to manual focus with live view to ensure photos are as sharp as they can be (or sometimes relying on auto-focus but also using live view to get the focus just right).

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Reculver Towers at sunrise…one of two slapped in a frame during 2018 and hung in our house.

So, what next…?

I was fortunate to get a 10 stop Cokin filter, which I’m looking forward to chucking in front of my wide-angle lens and capturing some smooth long exposure coastal scenes, as well as a polariser (also for the wide-angle lens) for that glare suppression and blue sky popping.

I’ve also been mulling over more broadly some things I should look into doing in 2019 to take things a step further. Here are a few things floating around my head…

1) Do more video work - I have mixed thoughts about this. I have a (currently dormant) YouTube channel that I’d like to start using more of, but I’m conscious I don’t have the equipment (or confidence!) that many YouTube photographers have at their disposal. So jury is out on whether I will actually do anything on this in 2019. That said, one of the things I was looking forward to once I bagged the new iPhone XR was to play with video. We’ll see…

2) More street photography - I definitely want to do more of this after dipping my toes in the water in 2018. I feel I’ve got a bit more confidence now in tackling this kind of photography, I need to hone my skills quite a bit more, so I guess that means pushing myself out into the streets with a camera in hand…

3) Print more - I have a small Canon Selphy CP1300 at home which I’ve used fairly frequently (mainly for casual family pictures). But I’ve rarely printed and framed. I want to do more printing, chucking stuff in frames, small albums, little scrapbook type things…more physical, not just throwing everything online and being done with it.

4) Blog more - So if the video thing doesn’t happen (SPOILER ALERT: it won’t), the other thing I’ve been intending to do this year is to post more regularly, like…once a week. A weekly blog. On a specific day. A bit like all those great vlogs I watch that are released on a weekly/bi-weekly schedule. I’m going to do the same. I’m going to go out on photo trips at weekends, do a write-up, post it. Job done. I figure it’ll help me learn, bit of reflective writing and all that. And maybe it will be useful to others that are thinking of picking up a camera and start playing around with it. I think I might just do that. BLOGGING. IT’S BACK.

5) Discover new locations - I need to do this. Try out a few new places. Now I have a phone with a GPS thingy that actually works (SAY WHAT NOW?!), I might go out and explore a little more. Go beyond my usual locations. Try something new. Keep it fresh. Because, you know, same locations time after time after time after time after time after time after time after time after time after time…well, you know…

6) Oh yeah, 365 Project type stuff - Ok, normally this kind of thing isn’t really my bag. I’m not hugely into commitments over a long period of time (well, there are exceptions…)…routine gets a bit tiresome for me. But I have been persuaded to the 365 photo project the year. I’m having a crack at it, but don’t hold your breath I’ll last more than a month (tbh a week will be quite something). You can find my half-arsed 365 effort on Instagram at captureyield365 (yeah, imaginative innit).

So yeah, let’s see how this all goes. One thing is for certain, I don’t want to stand still. Well, unless that works for the composition anyway…

Happy 2019!

Photography and mental health

2018 has been a difficult year. Back in February, my mother passed away following years of decline. She was diagnosed with a rare condition known as Multiple System Atrophy (MSA). Once MSA sets in, the body rapidly declines. Within six years my mother went from relatively healthy to being unable to move virtually a single muscle in her body. She went from difficulties walking, to being incapable of getting out of bed unaided to being unable to feed herself to barely being able to speak. My sister and I saw her the weekend before she passed away and it was a very distressing sight. We knew that she didn't have long left.

Our mother passed on to both of us a love of photography. Both my sister and I have a long had an interest in it. I've had cameras for long as I can remember. Mainly point and click auto focus cameras, I have particular fond memories of an Olympus Mju II that I fell in love with many years ago. I was never a "serious" photographer, but I was always interested in experimenting with different composures, trying to get photos that are a little different than the usual. Eventually, after dipping my toes in the water with a couple of digital compact cameras (an Olympus digital followed by a Lumix with a Leica lens), I decided to get an entry level DSLR (which I still use now) - a Nikon D3200

It took me a little while to take full control, sticking rigidly to taking photos in automatic mode, always intending to learn, but never quite finding the time. Then, eventually, a free online course cropped up, a signed up and here I am, still learning, but also confidently taking images in full manual mode. I got there.

I used to play football on a regular basis until I was no longer able to due to change in jobs making it too difficult to get from work to home to football on a week night. Football was a great stress reliever for me. It helped to keep me balanced, to provide an outlet for my frustrations. Since putting the football shoes away, I've lacked that certain something. I threw myself into a lot of things, got involved in way too many things, and didn't have an outlet to release the building pressure. Photography has given me an excuse to go out and about, forcing me to put on a pair of shoes and go out into the countryside for some relaxation and quiet reflection. Never has this been more important than during the past seven months.

These last two weeks I've been signed off from work due to my mental health. And over those two weeks I honestly don't know what I would have done without my camera. There were days I stayed in bed all morning, unable to get up. But there were days where I resolved to get up earlier, go out and enjoy nature at sunrise. In a way the camera gave me the motivation to do something. To go out. To get fresh air. Even to talk to people. Funnily enough, as I was mulling over writing this post, I watched this video by Simon Baxter which really, for me, encapsulates the impact photography has on me (although I'm a long way off going professional - if that's ever even something I'd be interested in doing).

So yeah, photography has been a massive help in terms of my mental health. Regardless of the quality of the photos I take, I certainly feel that going out with my camera, getting out in nature and spending some time alone to reflect, has made a big difference in terms of my mental wellbeing. I just wish it hadn't taken me so long to realise how important that is.