The weather was nice here in New York for the first time in a long time yesterday. The past few weeks have been a mix of rain, snow and very often, bitter cold. And while I can’t claim to be completely ready to welcome warmer weather, I am hoping the rise in temperature also means a renewed desire to create work.
Winter has always been debilitating to my creative process. So much so that I’ve almost come to expect that I’ll make almost no new photographs between the core months of winter (namely, January and February). Still, somehow I need winter.
As far as seasons go, winter is probably my favorite; there’s something strangely attractive about a season that shuts all of us inside for the better part of its duration. For me creatively, it provides a period of time where I can step back and evaluate what I’m doing photographically and where I want to go. All this time spent thinking seems like a good idea, but inevitably has its drawbacks as well.
My fatal flaw as a photographer has always been too much thinking and not enough doing. I find myself struggling with an idea for days, even weeks, before I ever think to attempt it. Instead I play-out in my head every possibility of what I want the photo to be. When really, if I tried working through the idea instead of just thinking about it, I would probably have far better end results.
Here’s to hoping spring is more productive.
East Harlem – E 111th St and 3rd Ave (2009)