Reviewing my Harris images from November 2022 and November 2023, I am struck by the contrast between the two.

Harris images from November 2022:

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And the images below are from 2023:

One could ask why they are so different? And I think they are different for a number of reasons:

1 The weather and lighting conditions were quite different between the two portfolios. I was particularly aware that we had softer light this past November compared to my visit in 2022. It was also much less stormy this past November and I remember feeling that there was more sunlight. The weather was more reminiscent of summer. The seasons were later this year being an el-niño year.

2 Because the lighting conditions were softer this year, I found that even when I did try to edit the work to feel more dramatic, or use darker tones and contrasts, I felt as though I was working against the true nature of the subject. I had difficulty working on my most recent set because of this and had to go back and start again.

3 Personal mood. I am aware that if I chose to edit the same set of images at a different time, I may approach them differently. Some times I find my edits are bold while other times I find that I tend to go more soft and airy with the work. I have found these fluctuations in my other destinations that I go to. My Lencois Maranhenses Brazil imagery for instance is often soft and airy, but last year I found that I produced a more dramatic series of images. This is definitely due to my own mood of where I am with my ‘art’ but also down to what the weather provided for me.

Comparison is the thief of Joy

I have often thought this statement to be true. Comparing oneself to others is not a healthy approach. So too is comparing one’s own work to another’s. There is also the un-constructive view of comparing one’s own work to other work you have produced. To evaluate yourself against previous successes is also fraught with unhealthy views. In a way, one must learn to ‘let go’, and accept that one’s work will vary, one’s own focus will fluctuate and to be quite blunt: sometimes the work will be better or worse for no other reason than that is just what it is.

Learning to live with one’s own inner inconsistencies is perhaps the answer. Or simply accepting that the work you produce today is nothing more than what you did today, and is no reflection on whether you are getting better or worse in your work. If you have difficulty with some work, then either park it and come back to it later, or if you are finding that it’s impossible to find the right approach, then just produce it anyway, so you can get it out of the way to allow for something else to enter your life.

I have often thought about ‘writer’s block’. That situation where the artist or writer finds dissatisfaction with everything they do. The best remedy is to take a more cavalier approach to what you do and just get through the period of what you don’t like. Even if you think the work is sub-standard, I think the only solution is to produce it, so it is now out of the way, and keep looking ahead.