365 in 2012
It’s that time of year when our thoughts drift to new beginnings, resolutions, and self-improvement. The birth of a new year coupled with the death of the previous. Upon taking a long painful objective look at where I stand in my career, it has become obvious where my weakness lies. It has been the subject of rampant denial throughout 2011 & I have decided to force acceptance through public acknowledgment. It’s been just over two & a half years since I dove into photography head first. I’ve discovered that taking pictures is really fun. Everything after - not so much. I shoot & shoot, but my post-production workflow sucks. I thought about candy-coating that, but honestly it sucks! I take WAY too long to turnaround and present my work. Most of the work I show is about a year old and that is not a pattern I care to carry on any longer. I have rationalized it by saying, “I want to look back on the work with fresh eyes…” but, that can be accomplished in weeks, not months.
Not only am I failing to present my best talent, but I am robbing my collaborating team members of the opportunity to show their work. Consider this a public apology to all models, makeup artists, hair stylists, wardrobe stylists, and designers I have worked with over the past year. I am truly sorry you have been made to wait so long to see & use your wonderful work.
So, enough self-loathing. I was recently inspired greatly by a post from Chase Jarvis. I highly recommend reading it here:
10 Things Every Creative Person (That’s YOU) Must Learn
It was actually an adaptation of Guy Kawasaki’s article “What I learned from Steve Jobs.”
The part that really got my attention was number 10:
10. Real artists create.
Do you just sit around and think of stuff you could create, photograph, build, ship, or design, but never output anything? Then you’re a poser. Take a new approach and make stuff. Maybe what comes out of your studio isn’t perfect, but there should always stuff leaving the door and hitting the web, the page, the billboard, the gallery, or the street. If you are for real, you’ll be pumping out work on the regular
I was further inspired to make a change when I came across this interview with Jack White:
Ok, enough hot air, get to the point Johnny… This is not a New Year’s resolution, it is a personal challenge. I have gone public with my problem & propose a solution. I will output 365 photos into the interwebs in 2012. I aim to post one per day, but in anticipation of the inevitable impossible days, I will double up as needed to make up for misses.
I can’t promise that all of the images will be finished or even good for that matter. But, something will get posted every day. I will be posting all of them here @ tumblr, but will also post appropriate images to my website, Facebook, and even instagram.
I’ll put the work out there. Feel free to offer feedback when you get the urge, I will appreciate it. So, without further ado, I present the first installment of 365 in 2012:
