Since moving to Toronto almost 10 years ago, I have continually been trying to deepen my relationship with photography.
My first career as a photojournalist allowed my both the time and ever-changing situations to expand my craft. It was always an appreciated challenge to illustrate life as it happened a fraction of a second at a time.
As my career shifted, I began to spend more time with my words than I did with in the darkroom.
Then, there was a period where I hardly picked up my camera.
About 15 years ago, I made an attempt to jump back into a pursuit has always been a major part of my life. Then, my move to Toronto provided plenty of new opportunities visually. Photography turned out to be a great way to explore my new home.
I purchased a new camera last summer and have seriously enjoyed each moment adjusting to the new technology contained in the device. I don’t think I’ve ever spent as much time studying a camera manual as I have over the past year; I never thought I had to. Photography, at its most rudimentary level, is the balance of light and time. Digital photography has disrupted that balance.
I know I must learn more if I want to keep up with, or get on top of, the reality of what is happening. It is as confusing as it is inspiring.
I bought a new lens last week, adding a greater dimension to the range of focal lengths I employ. In my newspaper days, I had a particular wide-angle lens that was one of my workhorse choices. I felt, recently, that that range has been missing from the toolkit I carry around with me.
A wide angle lens expands your perspective. The width and breath of the lens allows a greater swath of the landscape that surrounds you and provides a greater dimension if not a bigger moment.
It’s another way of looking at things.
I need that right now, inspiration to take me a little deeper, something to adjust my focus. How I spend my time is more about how choose to see what is before me.
08/07/2021 j.g.l.
