"What else are you going to do?"

"What else are you going to do?"

I asked myself this question when I was deciding whether or not I would go to college to learn Photography and get qualified.  I was looking at my other options at the time.  What else was I going to do if I didn't pursue this?  Work in a Starbucks all my life?  It was this or nothing.

In a conversation with photographer James Pfaff, where we discussed a move away from Falkirk and possibly Scotland, he asked me the same question.  If I didn't take a chance and move to somewhere new, what would my options be?  Events and family portraiture, probably.  Nothing wrong with it if it's what you want to do but it's not something that really allows for creativity.  I would like to challenge myself with photography.  Visit places.  Meet interesting people and learn from them.  Do things that I wouldn't normally be doing.

 I recently did some work for a local dentist that I found enjoyable and interesting as I was able to spend a day with people I ordinarily wouldn't be spending time with.  That wouldn't have happened had I not decided to study photography.  If I can get that kind of thing on a more regular basis, I'll be happy.  Much easier said than done, of course.

So where to?  There's lots of work in London but too many people and with the prices of things I'd be cheaper commuting from Falkirk.  New York, Paris, Sydney all sound good and glamourous but Germany tops the list of potential locations at the moment.

So November saw us go on a short break/scouting mission to see how we liked the country.  I've travelled before but moving is an entirely different proposition.  And 5 days isn't enough to know if it's right for you.  5 days wasn't enough for us to wander about and see all the touristy places.

I said we'd give it more, serious consideration in the new year and take it from there.  

Blogging

I'm not really one for blogging, if I'm honest.  That said, I do enjoy talking/writing about photography and it's not something I've done much of since I left college in the summer.

The two main reasons for this is that I'm no longer interacting with my classmates on a regular basis and I'm not getting briefs from college anymore.  One of these isn't necessarily a bad thing.

For a lot of the class, the course meant putting the rest of your life on hold for two years.  Work hours were cut, family and friends were often neglected to various degrees in the weeks before hand ins and massive debt accumulated to pay for it all.  I'm enjoying the fact that I'm no longer stressed out.  As is my girlfriend. 

For my final hand in of the course ("Memories of My Father"), I handed in a small photobook with 40 photographs and a hundred words at the back that gave a bit of context to the project.  I also handed in a workbook with over 60,000 words in it.  Google tells me that the average novel has 90,000 words in it.  So I do like to discuss things.  Maybe too much.

This blog is my way of discussing photography and whatever else takes my fancy without needing the college briefs as targets.  They won't be going out regularly as I'll just be writing when something pops into my head.  Writing without the pressure to write.

On the other hand, one of upsides of college briefs is that they give you a goal to work to and there's no choice in the matter.  It's the task at hand and needs to be addressed.  I no longer have that.  I can set smaller goals or impose time limits but there's no consequences for not doing them so the incentive isn't the same.  As much as I'm enjoying the time off from the student existence, I'm finding that if I'm not getting work, I'm a little lost.  My hope is that this blog will provide some motivation to try some stuff out.  If it sits untouched for a while, it'll annoy me into action.

I will mostly blether about my experiences at college or since and how they affected me.  Some briefs were forgotten as quickly as they were handed in, while some had a huge influence on how I photograph and think about things today.  If my ramblings are of any use or interest to you, then all the better.

The good news, if you are reading this and plan to read other entries is that the chances of any more 60,000 word essays are zero.