The new year always involves a lot of reflecting and manifesting, and I thought I'd put together a list of subjects, locations, and future concepts that I want to experiment with through photography.
Astrophotography - capturing the stars as close to their real essence as possible
One of my favourite parts of the summer is going to a campground or friend's cottage and looking at the abundance of stars at night. The one thing that I feel would make me enjoy those moments more is if I could take a picture of them. They are so damn beautiful. This is something that I've tried before, but astrophotography involves a little more technical skills than what I currently have, so this will definitely need some trial and error, but I'm excited to dive into a new realm of photography. The harder I work for it, the more fulfilling it will be when it does work out.
Wildlife - something other than a squirrel or bird
I've had a lot of practice photographing animals and I'm pretty pleased with the shots I've captured so far. The progress I've made with my animal photography is something that I am incredibly proud of, but I feel like I'm at a point where I've gotten as much out of the songbirds and squirrels as I could. I don't care if it's redemption photos of deer or photos of or a completely new animal that I've never really worked with before (as if this were a business deal lol). I really want to get out and find new creatures and get whatever I can, big or small. Doesn't even matter how good the quality of the photos are, I just want to work with something new.
Travel - literally any new environment
Speaking of something new, covid-aside, travelling is something that I truly enjoy and I really miss not going out and experiencing new locations. Whether it's a new local campground, or in a totally different country, I am really looking forward to travelling to a brand new environment and capturing anything and everything through my camera. The idea of being thrown into a new atmosphere with just nothing but my camera sounds fantastic to me, I can't wait to just "go nuts" the next time I am able to leave the house.
Self-portraits
This is an area that isn't just about the improvement of quality for me, but just something that I'd like to practice more, from the "model's" perspective. I've had a few shoots for just myself that have been really difficult to get going because if you know me, you know I'm an incredibly awkward person. It takes me like 25 minutes and 4 different locations for me to start feeling "comfortable" in front of my camera, even if I'm the one "behind" it as well (and comfortable is a very loose term). My main goal in trying these types of shoots is to just loosen up and just go for it, rather than stay tense and awkward. If I can be confident behind the camera, why can't I be confident in front of the camera, especially if I'm the one shooting it? The idea of having full control over these shoots is what motivates me to even attempt them in the first place. Hopefully, I can get some more practice in, and possibly get some decent photos out of it as well.
*other photos are property of Unsplash*