Back at it again in 8mm.

It’s been a while.

I do not have any substantial excuses — focused creativity takes time and patience and I am still learning to find both. Turning ideas into photography can feel like a punishing act some days and that self administered punishment can be very discouraging after an initial burst of motivation.

I’m sure most art forms suffer from these brief spurts of feeling like an unoriginal douche. I would find myself standing underneath the trestles of Prince George’s Cameron Street Bridge and staring aimlessly down a 50mm lens, wondering how many other chumps stood here feeling the same way.

How can I frame this so that it will look different? What clever editing technique can bring something forward that no one else has seen? What does this photograph say that has not already been said?

I won’t go on too long about this problem — with all the injustice and pain in the world, I feel like being an unoriginal, straight white male standing under a bridge with an expensive camera is hardly a bad spot to be standing.

A few weeks later, I found solace in the words of a good friend. On a sunny Sunday evening, we were walking through Lheidli Tenneh Memorial Park with our camera gear stapped to our backs and searching for some good scenery to begin shooting. As we walked, I complained to Matthew about this aforementioned sense of unoriginality and missed inspiration.

He laughed and answered.

I don’t know. I don’t think it has to be about shooting something new every time. I think it’s just about finding your style and shooting things that make you happy — whatever that is and whatever that looks like. Focus on finding that and the rest comes together.

I remember smiling and not saying much else on the matter. It makes sense, doesn’t it? That’s exactly what this should be about.

So fast forward a few weeks and the photos are flying a bit easier— below are a few shots from the previously mentioned jaunt through the park and this weekend’s Prince George Pride Parade.

I shot Pride on my new Sigma 8mm f/3.5 and I think there will be many more shots coming through that piece of glass. It’s a really cool lens — it doesn’t have a single electronic in it so you have to shoot it totally manual which has been a great learning experience.

Enjoy!

Edit — Medium really downgrades the quality of some of the photos. They’re not so grainy IRL. I swear. SORRY!