Marina, Astoria, Oregon
I am right at home in the landscape. I love photographing the land, and water, in a delicate and simple way. The peace and quiet of a forest, the rich colors of a sunset over the sea or a majestic mountain peak at sunrise. That is where I feel at home.
We were at the marina in the late afternoon on a stormy day with camera in tow, so I forced myself to try to photograph. I struggled. The busyness I saw through the viewfinder was confusing me. I didn’t know what to look at. Simplifying the scene was a struggle. I had to work. I finally felt the image. I had isolated a bit of quiet in the bottom and right side of the image, the ships and clouds overhead on the left. I feel good about the image, but man, did I ever have to fight inside for it. I found it difficult, but rewarding.
By getting outside our “box” we force ourselves to grow, both as a person and creatively. It is important to do this to keep from getting stale. Even though we love what we do as artists, we must on occasion force ourselves to step out of our box and find something else. It will keep us fresh. We will find new work to do. It is just all around a healthy thing to do.
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