i graduated from art school with a photography and creative writing degree about 3 years ago and have been in a masters program for creative writing and english since then. i felt like i never wanted to do another photo project again after graduating and had zero ideas for one even if i wanted to. so instead i just carried my 35mm camera around with me whenever i went on trips or hung out with my friends or went on hikes, whatever. i only took photos of things that i thought were nice. old buildings, my friends in good lighting, colorful displays, pretty flowers, whatever other pinterest cliche film photos you could think of. taking photos without the stress of needing to make something important made me able to keep my love of photography so i'm now at the point where i'm ready to embark on a real fine arts conceptual project. it really does just take patience and finding ways to retain the joy it once brought you. creating with friends also always makes it more fun, so find ways to include others in what you do!
the photo below is just one i took of my friend anthony when we were wandering the city and day drinking on labor day and it inspired what will be my next project, and the first real one i'll attempt since graduation <3
Jan 9, 2025
Related Recs
📼
feel like phone photos feel so much less permanent than film or digicam, it almost orients photography to be a functional medium instead of an artistic one... my camera roll is mostly just photos of stuff i want to remember to buy, or text message attachments. if that's how your brain is conditioned to think about photography, muscle memory for photographing stuff that feels more... photo-worthy will atrophy
i used to carry both a polaroid + 35mm camera with me every time i left the house but found myself struggling to actually use them for this reason; occasionally inspiration strikes when you see cool shit in your city or a beautiful sunset or whatever, but serendipity is notoriously unreliable
i think that having a list of things you can condition yourself to photograph / be on the lookout for as you're out and about, like friends, landscapes, skylines, interiors, etc. has been a lot more helpful for me. go out with the express intention to photograph <thing> a couple of times. then, start bringing a small portable camera with you when you leave, and the cue-craving-action-reward cycle will eventually take over and you'll have more photos that feel special and worth showing to others
Feb 1, 2025
I recently got into photography again after a year of not touching my camera, I'm very happy to create and do something that I love since I was 14.
I will share a pic that I took last week in a small city rounded by nature 🥺
Jan 14, 2025
🗺
been trying to work on a new project/photoseries that is more street style, meaning i need to bring my camera with me everywhere now. unironically, constantly being behind a lens or just thinking about what to shoot next has made me feel so much more present and observational. my head has been on a constant swivel and ive been so much more motivated to walk everywhere and explore places i previously didnt question
May 28, 2025
Top Recs from @sbonifazi
this idea of "you don't owe anyone anything" came about through the social media therapists that try to diagnose complete strangers with a multitude of issues and complexes. all it has done has made selfish people more selfish and divided us as a community.
you do not owe everyone everything, but if you consider yourself part of a community, a society, you do owe everyone something. at a base level you owe people kindness, respect (as long as they haven't lost the right to it), and basic human decency. you owe your loved ones even more.
stop being selfish and rude in the name of treating your so-called "people pleasing."
Feb 4, 2025
🖌
if one more person tells me to turn one of my hobbies into a business i'm gonna go berserk. is nothing sacred in this late stage capitalist hellscape?
Feb 3, 2025
May 26, 2025