Happy new year to everyone! I have been excited for this year to start for several reasons. While I discuss my goals for 2019 I thought I’d throw in some images I hadn’t posted last year just to get them out there.
The New Focus
When I first started photography I was pretty much only interested in one thing, Cityscapes. I done them over and over until I got to the point that I wanted to try something different.
In recent years I’ve had more of an interest in still life and product photography. I tend to shop quite a bit so I always have new items to photograph. I sometimes actually think that because I love product photography, this pushes me to shop even more. I also tend to shoot anything which results in myself trying different genres rather than focusing on specific ones.
There’s a figure of speech which is Jack of all trades, master of none. I feel I am more on the jack side of things, rather than mastering a particular genre. Because of this, I plan to focus on two to three genres this year. I have read that many people prefer to focus on two to three genres so they can really hone their skills which is what I need to do.
The 3 genres I really want to focus on are urban or street photography, still life/product photography and portraits.
I have a different style of street photography compared to the more traditional style you see. Rather than up close with a 35mm or wide lens, I prefer a telephoto lens and utilizing a shallow depth of field to give a different perspective. Below are some examples of street photos I took with my 85mm.
For Cityscapes, I want to focus on finding new locations in Sydney as there are many places I haven’t visited. Back in Perth it was easy to go shoot as I had my car to transport all my gear around. Here in Sydney, I have to rely on walking and public transport to get myself from A to B. Each year I say I will go out during winter since sunset is much earlier and more manageable. Sadly this never happens so this year I have to make sure I stick to that.
The other genre is still life/product photography and portraits. This is the area I want to improve and grow the most. My skills with artificial lighting aren’t the best so that will be my first area of attention. I also feel creativity is my biggest hindrance when it comes to creating images. With street photography, I am finding moments or scenes to capture which are already in place. With portraits or still life, you have to create and tell the story with the scene you set. This is what I struggle with and if anyone has any suggestions to improve in this area I would be happy to hear them. I do have a portrait project I’ve wanted to do so this year may be the time to finally make it happen.
The New Website
I enjoy writing about photography whether it be tutorials or sharing my impressions of new gear. Because of this, I decided to start a new website dedicated to podcasts and articles. I originally planned to do this next year as 2019 will be my final year of uni. I’m going to be flooded with assignments as well as doing full time work, so my schedule will be very limited. I’ll try my best to manage my time as efficiently as possible so that I can balance all my commitments equally.
At the end of the year I can look back and review this post to see how well I stuck to these goals I’ve set for myself. I hope everyone has a happy and safe 2019!
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