Sometimes we get lost
Sometimes we get lost. Not just as an artist or a photographer, but as a person. It happened to me. The reasons might be different for everyone, but the struggle is the same — a loss of identity, a loss of confidence, and it hits your creative work hard.
For several months I struggled with it, and it came to a head on a photography outing. It was a beautiful morning with a great sunrise, and I fought my camera the entire time. Nothing worked. Eventually I packed the camera back into the bag and found a rock along the coast instead.
That morning I just watched the sunrise. Didn’t photograph it, just watched it. It was beautiful, and sitting there I took stock of a lot of things. That’s when things started to turn around.
I didn’t pick the camera back up for close to a month, but I felt more like myself with each day that passed. Then a buddy texted asking if I wanted to go shoot sunset. I hesitated, then said yes. As we shot the sunset in Newport that evening, I felt that old familiar pull again — the excitement, the passion for making something.
“Dramatic Skies over Newport Bridge” was my favorite shot from that night — the clouds lit up right after the sun dropped below the horizon. I let the bridge stay a silhouette on purpose; the color and drama in the sky mattered more to me than the detail in the bridge itself. You can see the print here: Dramatic Skies over Newport Bridge.