Since my graduation from SUNY last month, I have discovered that I have become unfocused. The last five years have allowed me to concentrate on a specific goal, i.e. securing my history degree, long overdue. I have done this to the best of my ability. I have written recently about setting new goals and have, I hope, been able to communicate how difficult a task that can be. Sure, I have my photography, but I am slacking in some areas of that. There are rolls of film piling up that demand my attention; there are prints promised that have yet to be made, let alone test-stripped; I need to get back into the swing of things with a vengeance, as if my life depended upon it, which in a strange way it does. If this is the path I am to tread, then I must get on with it and stop gazing at the scenery on the side of the road! I need to focus and get the work done. Maybe I should make a list of projects. I’ll start here..
1. Develop all the rolls of 120 film from my trip to Provincetown.
2. Sort through the negatives of fellow students from last spring.
3. Choose the negatives I wish to print and get that done!
4. Sort through the “Lighthouse” negatives and print some of them.
5. Begin work on the “Beekeeper” project.
If I really apply myself, these labors could occupy much of my time. That’s the issue, I think. I have a lot of time on my hands and am not using it wisely. I lack the discipline I have had in the past few years in regards to my academic work. I need to think one word–
PORTFOLIO
–take it seriously and go from there. This includes 4×5 contact prints, once I am more capable with that camera. The most recent exposures are better, not so bulletproof. I will make this happen. No more hoping, no more dreams of completion. I will do it and be happy because I will have worked hard to accomplish these tasks.
More to come…
JDCM
Ah, self-discipline. It can be such a challenge! One that I’m sure you’re quite capable of meeting. Good luck!