For the past three years I have encountered periods in my photographic journey where I have doubted my abilities and taken short breaks from this hobby. Since the vast majority of my photographs are taken in solitude I have only lamented about this common phenomenon alone or through this blog. There have been times when I have been able to discuss my creative torment with two of my critics who have in their individual ways assured and comforted me that it’s a ‘normal’ creative cycle for anyone who seriously pursues the ever elusive concept we call art.
But recently it is VERY different to watch another artist wrestle with feelings that are so familiar to me. Tracy is currently in a period where she is taking a ‘break’ from photographs. Our common passion for photography brought us together and although we continue to share this passion, we have of course grown beyond pixels and hues. No meaningful relationship survives solely on common interests as I have painfully experienced in the past.
It is much easier to wrestle and lament over my own shortcomings with photography, but to watch another person, especially one so dear to my own soul wrestle with what is an inevitable part of advancement is difficult. So like all of us who aspire to improve, to grow beyond what we imagined, she will take this break and in whatever way possible I will support that period.
I write these thoughts in hopes to encourage everyone, including myself that those periods when we are ‘quiet’ artistically may indeed provide the most significant times of growth.
