Trust the Camera

Home, sweet home.

Taking this photo made me feel a lot like how I feel writing this blog right now: a little bit aimless, and a lotta bit pointless.

Our team did a test run camp out before we officially started our Astrophotography workshops. It was too early in the year; the Milky Way wasn’t even going to be visible. That wasn’t the point. The point was for us to get together and practice camping out and shooting for several days. So I did. I grabbed my camera and just took photos of - like - whatever. I pretended to be a real photography, just like now I’m pretending to be a real professional with a proper website and things.

I set a timelapse up of our camp at sunset and let it run. By the time the night came, the clouds had rolled in. I couldn’t see what I was focusing on, and my hands were frozen. I almost turned the camera off and called it a night, because what was the point if we couldn’t even see the stars?

“The camera sees things that you can’t. Just trust it.” That’s what Rob told me. So I did my best to focus and adjust the settings and let it go for a few hours.

The results were beautiful.

So here I am, coming full circle after a magical year of creativity and beauty, and I’m still feeling like I don’t know what the point is. I guess I need to build my internet presence and present my work like I’m a real artist or something. But I just look at it all and feel like I can’t see the way forward. Is all this effort even going to be worth it?

To be honest, there was a good chunk of effort made last year that didn’t amount to much. I have forgotten folders full of photos that were never edited and timelapses that didn’t turn out well. To be honest, sometimes it’s a wash.

But I’m working with forces beyond what my eyes can see. The camera sees what I can’t. So I’m starting this documentation of my creative life to see what it can show me. I’m trusting the process.