"Lone Soldier of winter" is an extract from about four years ago . . . one of my favorites

A close-up of a budding wildflower, captured on a cloudy Adirondack day.

Have you ever asked yourself that question about your photography? You’ve been taking pictures for awhile . . . maybe years…maybe many years. Every time you head out with your camera, if you’re like me, you have some thoughts lingering in the back of your mind somewhere about what you were going to shoot on this trip.

I was thinking about this the other day as I was backing up some images from a shoot earlier in the day. I had gone out to shoot winter landscapes and was expecting to return with bright blue skies contrasting with sparkling ice and pristine snow. I hadn’t taken time to notice that the snow covering the landscape was several days old and anything but pristine. Most of the ice had rounded edges because of a few warmer than winter days. And, blue skies? This is Central New York. We don’t automatically expect blue skies.

But once I got out in the woods, Baltimore Wood Nature Center actually, my focus (pun intended) became just finding an image. The trees were devoid of foliage of course and week’s visitors to the nature center had pretty much tracked up the snow. I’d have to really work at finding a image or two I could be happy with.

A budding experience

I did, but as I uploaded them to storage I found myself looking back through previous trips when it hit me. I like this kind of photography. I like finding bits and pieces of the landscape that make interesting, even inviting  images. The more I’ve looked back at my favorite images, the more I realize that, while I still like to photograph the standard broad landscapes, the juices really get flowing when I begin to extract elements, shapes, lines, and tones to create my images.

What does this tell me? I need to spend some more time looking back at the work I’ve produced that excites me most and spend my energy and what limited time I have to photograph, seeking out these kinds of images.

I’d encourage anyone, especially if you have limited time to devote to your photography, to invest a little time to look over your shoulder and discover (or perhaps re-discover) the photography that is most satisfying to you. It can be very instructive . . . not to mention rewarding.