My new project, But When It Rains… (working title) is about how we have changed the natural patterns of rain water and the quality of that water.

Writing About Your Photographs Everyday Will Focus Your Work

Don’t overthink, just do. Get outside, make an image and process it with words.

I’ve been working on a photography project this summer that I am calling But When It Rains… The project is about Albuquerque’s relationship with water, storms and drainage. I am approaching it very differently I have previous projects.

Instead of just shooting the photographs and then building a story around them I am posting a photograph daily to Instagram and my blog. With each post is a few sentences that talk to my state of mind and a little direction for how to think about the image. (Here, the sentences are in the caption fields of each picture.)

“Water will find its way. Our property lines are imaginary.”

What Wasn’t Working

For the past 13 years I have worked in the civil engineering industry and as I started the project my writing sounded like it. My paragraphs were long technical all about infiltration and water quality. The industry side of me was trumping the photographer in me. And I wasn’t happy.

I was overthinking what the project should look like. Black and white has been my go-to for the past few years. I love the way it takes away the distraction of color and amplifies textures and, sometimes, emotion. But the photographs for this project weren’t working that way.

“Monsoon season in the desert means so much for the land and the rivers. But we have altered that path and changed the way water interacts with the earth.”

What I Did Instead

Both my writing and my photos were coming up short. I didn’t want to abandon the work I’d done and I knew I could turn the project around. I stopped filtering ideas prematurely and let thoughts flow. Crucially, I’d let them exist on paper before deciding if they were worthwhile or not.

It turns out I had some good ideas in there. I just needed to get them written down and let them breathe.

“The problem is that we have become so comfortable with our surroundings that we don’t see how unnatural they are.”

After keeping at it, I had a few photographs and a bit of momentum. Alongside the thought, I wrote a sentence with each post to Instagram and Tumblr describing the project.

I never intended to share the new approach — or its products — with anyone more than a few like minded photographers but that feedback from friends and photographers was positive and I felt some welcome accomplishment. I was encouraged to step out a bit more.

“How much have we changed the rate at which our aquifer is replenished? Can our current system really sustain us?”

Keeping a Streamlined Process

Early every morning before work, I leave my house and hunt for photographs. I like the early daylight. Some days I have a plan of where to go others I just wander.

Every evening, I download, make some quick selects, edit the shots from the day, and then sync the selects to Lightroom Mobile.

“Albuquerque’s population grew from 35,449 in 1940 to 201,189 in 1960. This is before there was a governing body to control arroyo and storm water (AMAFCA). We have retrofitted flood control since, we can moving forward.”

As I am out shooting for the day I stay aware of my thoughts. When my inner-dialog satisfies what it is I am getting at, I pick up my phone, pull a photograph out of Lightroom Mobile and share it … alongside what is on my mind.

“‘If field grade adjustments are required, the contractor shall notify the engineer.’ That is a note on grading plans and it means the engineers designs are often changed in the field to match reality. ”

Where I Am Now

Every project has an arc. At the far left is the idea and the far right is the end result. I have found it best to focus more on the far left and let the far right stay blurry.

I started this project focusing on water quality issues and even though that is still part of it today I have shifted toward thinking more and more about water management. That shift is because of the inner-dialog I have maintained. As But When It Rains… moves toward that right side I’ll have to start to look at where the project will land.

Finding that landing point is often hard, but maybe I will come up with it through honest conversation with myself and continued written notes? Right now, I’m right in the middle of it all, still working it out and very content.

Justin Thor Simenson is a photographer based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is editor of Gig magazine. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr.

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