Photography has always been something that interested me. When I was ten, I spent weeks saving up my pocket money to buy a camera. It was a terrible camera, but I thought it was the best thing in the world. I would forget to move the film and would double expose it. Without a screen to show you what you were doing, my fingers would make appearances in the photos.

When digital cameras came out, I saved for one and it was probably even worse than the analog. It still didn’t have an LCD screen and the resolution was probably 128×128, yes, this was decades ago. I still loved it and used it but my photography skills never got any better.

And then smart phones came about and better digital point and shoots, and I started taking more pictures. A couple of years ago I got my first DSLR and it was NOT a game changer the way I thought it would be.

It wasn’t until last year when I finally decided I needed to hunker down and learn the ropes for real. And suddenly I started to understand what things like composition, ISO, aperture and shutter speed really meant. And yes they don’t always apply to the little camera in my pocket, but the knowledge explains why and how things happen.

And then I went for a smaller lighter mirrorless camera which now lives in my bag. It is easy to whip it out for shots whenever I feel like it.

A few weeks ago I wanted to do some sort of photography challenge/series for fun and to get more practice. The Alphabet seemed easy.

WRONG!

I had already started with Airplane when I started questioning if I should be literal or more abstract. Should they all be square, since I was posting on Instagram. Should it be a coherent collection?

Since I didn’t overthink it, I just did whatever I felt like. The only constraints were that the photo needed to represent the letter and that they had to go in order.

I learned that too few choices are difficult but so are too many. I was elated when I found an X on the ground because I had been thinking for days what to do with that stupid letter. And then there were letters like B, do you go with Ball, Balloon, Beach, or Building?

Constraints are actually good. When you keep some things constant, it helps you become more creating in other directions. There is also science behind it.

I need to think some things through. I am an over thinker, but I am also a leap and figure it out kind of person and I can easily swing between both sides. Which is sometimes a problem. Now that I have completed one of these, the next time, I will have a better plan. I would love to do a black and white abstract themed challenge. The constraints and rules are clear, so there will be much less agonizing over each picture.

I need more directed creative work. I do this for a living, I create content. And I do it for fun. But I grow the fastest when I have clear direction to go in. Focusing on one or two areas helps me hone one skill at a time.

I am definitely doing this again, maybe just not right away, because I love the randomness of my Instagram feed.