Where I've Been
If you've noticed it's been quiet around here lately, you're not imagining it. There's probably only one of you out there reading this blog, but if you've been wondering what happened to me, here's the story.
This isn't the first time I've stepped away from photography. During the many years I shot weddings, the camera slowly stopped being a source of joy and started feeling like a job. I still gave every couple my best work, but I remember plenty of weddings where I was just focused on getting through the day. It wasn't the same thrill I felt when I first started. For years, I didn't pick up a camera unless someone was paying me to.
Then, eventually, I picked one up again just for myself, and the bug bit me all over again. That cycle of burning out and falling back in love has happened a few times over my career, so I've learned not to panic when the break comes.
This time was different, though. I didn't stop because photography had become a chore. I stopped because two other parts of my life needed my full attention.
Getting my health back
I've always eaten fairly healthy, but apparently not healthy enough. I'd been dealing with aches and pains that I chalked up to approaching my late 50s. On a whim, I tried cutting out sugar, and within a few days the pain started to fade. That got my attention.
So I committed to a multi-month effort to cut sugar out completely, or as close as I could get. Within the first few weeks, most of the pain was gone, and my mobility felt years younger. I made a conscious decision to give myself three months to focus on nothing but getting healthier. It was well over 100 degrees on many days this summer anyway, so setting aside the after-work and weekend photo outings wasn't a hard call.
Now, at the end of October, I feel like I'm in my 30s again. There's still some lingering pain, but it gets better day by day. Clearly, my body didn't agree with sugar.
A new job and a long couple of months
At the same time, I started a new job. I've been in the car business for more than 30 years, and I've seen it all. Even so, this position needed much more fixing than I expected. It's nothing I can't handle, but it's taken a lot longer than I planned. Learning new people, new processes and new problems while trying to turn things around meant working practically around the clock, seven days a week, for the past couple of months. That took a toll, both mentally and physically, and it left no room for photography.
The good news is that I've accomplished most of what I set out to do at work. A few things remain, but everything runs far more smoothly than it did a couple of months ago, and I finally have the mental space to enjoy myself again.
Back behind the camera
As I write this, I'm deciding what gear to pack before I jump on the freeway and head down to Huntington Beach to see my young granddaughters. This is the first weekend I'm taking fully off, and I can't wait to get my head back into my hobby.
I've also got a big backlog of film and digital images waiting to be edited, so my plan is to work through those and get back into a regular rhythm of posting. That's the plan, anyway. We'll see how it goes.
One of the many new pieces of gear I still have to get out and get going and test - a 6×17 back