A year with my camera: what I’ve learned from photography and what I want to explore next
For a long time, I believed photography was all about control—controlling light, composition, and those moments that never seem to pause…
What automation really changed in photography
The first time I truly trusted autofocus, I was standing on a busy street, camera in hand, trying to capture the fleeting expressions of passersby in afternoon light. It was a moment ripe with potential, yet my fingers hesitated. Tentatively, I pressed the shutter, and the result was a revelation—a crisp, perfectly timed photograph I couldn't have captured alone.
When imperfection feels true…
The other day, I was reading the blog post “Not being able to see very clearly is believing” written by Joerg Colberg, and it made me ask myself a question - why do people find lo-fi video and mobile phone images more believable?
I forgot to remember…
or when every moment is captured and none are remembered.
We take more photos now than at any point in history. With our phones, burst mode, live photos, and endless storage, we snap every moment just in case. But then what happens? Most of these images vanish into the black hole of our camera rolls—thousands of pictures we never look at again. We technically “keep” these memories, but we never actually revisit them…
It’s not the camera, it’s you…
(and that’s a good thing)
It happens every year. A new camera drops, the specs sound unbelievable, and suddenly your perfectly fine setup starts to feel… dated. You scroll through YouTube reviews, watch side-by-side comparisons, and convince yourself that your creative ceiling must be the limits of your current gear…
Do you really need to be everywhere online?
Let's be honest — being a photographer in the age of social media can feel like juggling flaming cameras. Instagram, Threads, Facebook, Twitter/X, Flickr, YouTube, TikTok, maybe even a podcast... It's endless. And if you listen to the general noise online, it sounds like you must do it all. But do you?
Tags:
- 35mm
- analogue
- artistic identity
- authenticity online
- candid moments
- creative confidence
- creative growth
- everyday moments
- evolving as a photographer
- finding your style
- guide
- Kodak
- learning through others
- photography myths
- quiet scenes
- reflections
- Scotland
- social media pressure
- urban life
- validation culture