Exploring Will Inspire You Not Only to Take Better Photos
OK, then. I don’t know what happened here but what started as just wanting to share some more street photography from Santo Domingo, turned out to be some kind of motivational speech. I’ll just post it anyway, and the street photos too...
I agree that you should be inspired by the most mundane things. Even in your backyard, you should be able to make interesting photos. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t things that boost your inspiration. For me, traveling is the best inspiration for my photography. A different location with different people and cultures makes you see things clearly again.
When you’re living in the same place for years, you might start taking your surroundings for granted and that’s bad for your photography. Even exploring another town or taking a different route to work will ignite that photography spark again…
Keep exploring… and not only your surroundings
Years ago, when I was working for a company, I always went to work by bike and I always took the same route. At some point, I decided to take my camera to take photos of whatever caught my interest. It was a way to explore and find inspiration along the way. I started to take different routes and so, I discovered more and more interesting scenes. The boring route to work suddenly became interesting and changing routes and exploring, even on a tiny scale, inspired me to make a little project out of it. A series of photos taken on my short route to work turned into an inspiration.
That ‘Small World’ as I called it, turned out to be a lot bigger than I expected and I was not only exploring the road to work. I also found out what I like and dislike about photography and it helped me develop a style. If you want to grow as a photographer, you have to keep taking photos. As many as you can. You need inspiration and motivation for that and exploring and traveling is what inspires me the most.
Think big - Travel far
I’m writing this in the Dominican Republic and it has been almost a year since I started traveling with Joanna. We’ve been staying at her parents’ house in Santo Domingo and finally there’s some time to look back on the past months. It’s been great. More than great. Not only for my photography but also to get new ideas and make things clear in my head. This whole year has inspired me in many ways. I’m motivated to find ways to make a living from my photography and every day I want to take more and more photos. Even if it’s just shooting on the street here in front of the house.
Related read • How to Make Money As A [Travel] Photographer?
Exploring and traveling is one of the best things you can do if you want to learn and grow as a photographer. New ideas will pop up in your head every day. So many, that it’s sometimes even hard to keep track. Your brain gets new impulses every time you explore more and believe it or not, your stamina levels will skyrocket!
Traveling for a long time will change you. You won’t go home the same person. You’ll be a better version of yourself and also the photographer in you will be stronger and more motivated. If there’s one thing I would recommend to anyone, it’s traveling. Explore the world and learn as much as you can about it. It will be the best inspiration for your photography—and your life.
Ok, now go and plan a trip! And show me the photos when you get back!