Concerning photography

When we moved down here, I tried to convince myself that I would have plenty of new things to see and photograph. Other people tried to convince me of the same thing, and I thought to deny this would be silly and would mean that I'm not really an artist of any kind. A talented artist can make art out of anything, right? The truth is, I've been fooling myself. I was allowing myself to be shaped by the perceptions of others, by what I thought others would expect from me if I were ever to become a "real" photographer. The truth is, I haven't picked up my camera in months. It has nothing to do with wanting to and not wanting to. I've been dying to take pictures, but the truth for me is that my art comes from what makes my heart and soul happy. It's not about what other people want to see or what I or anyone else thinks a "real" photographer should be, it's about sharing the things that make me happy through my eyes. And, ultimately, the truth is that I haven't found that here. There are portrait photographers and architecture photographers, landscape and wildlife photographers, pretty much any category you can think of. Being good at all of those things is not what makes someone a talented photographer. It's doing what makes you happy that makes the difference. I am happy photographing the wild, wide open spaces that I love, and where there is passion there is art.