“The Artist must train not only his eye, but also his soul.” 

                                                                                       ~ Wassily Kandinsky

It's been a while since I posted here, but life kind of gets away from us sometimes.  No excuses, just busier than I typically like. So here we go.

I like to travel alone or at the very most with one or two other people, preferably photographers. Though lately, spending time with different non-photographer types, like travel journalists, has turned my photography practice on its ear.

People — which I don’t photograph unless I have to — are a necessary evil…er, part of travel photography. Photographing the destination is one thing, but photographing a destination for a travel magazine is a whole other thing. I had an editor tell me your pictures are beautiful, but where are the people? People? It never even crossed my mind.

It does now, of course, but only because that editor’s words constantly ring in my ear. So now, I’ve had to retrain my eye and my whole way of thinking. Suffice it to say that the way I feel now is entirely different. Could it be an evolution of the soul? Crap. That wasn’t in my plans, but you know what they say about plans.

How I photograph things now is wholly different from how I used to photograph. The upside is that when I go back to look at my images for an article or blog piece, I’m shocked at what I’ve got. And I like them. That rarely used to happen.  

I’ve learned how to be a better storyteller, and sometimes I even have to laugh out loud at what I’ve captured. People are pretty funny if you take your time with them a little less seriously. I’ve learned how to live when I travel rather than just work constantly. It all works out in the end, so enjoy it. Just make sure you don’t have so much fun, you forget what you came there for. Your editor will thank you.

Until next time . . .