Maybe it's because I'm getting older, maybe it's because I've got kids or maybe it's because my photographic eye is developing either way six years ago the thought of photographing a pile of rubbish from the beach would have been the furthest thing from my mind.
This is the fantastic thing about photography and especially as an amateur it develops along with you and your life. I don't just mean your technical ability to judge light, aperture, shutter speed etc. I mean your style, your content, your whole thought pattern as to how and what to shoot.
That’s not to say all things change, I still love to shoot striking portraits in B&W just like did at college 20 years ago, however the thought of fighting my way through the madding crowds of a skate park on competition day doesn't fill me with the same joy as it would have 10 years ago. Likewise taking a walk through the New Forrest with three noisy kids whilst shooting butterflies, flowers, and ponies would seem like a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. In my early 20s this would have scared the hell out of me.
I'm not trying to say the images I produce now are any more or less interesting than those I shot 20 years although I'd like to think my technical ability has improved a bit. What I'm saying is that photography is one of those fantastic parts of life that fits around and develops with you. Photography doesn't worry about age, photography does worry about how much time you devote to it, photography doesn't make you choose between landscape or portrait, colour or B&W, still life or action.
What photography does do is give you an immense feeling of satisfaction, achievement and even notoriety from simply doing something you love without the pressure of needing to please anyone except yourself.
Keep seeing, keep developing, and keep shooting.
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