Please, don’t make pretty pictures…

I know that, under your skin, you know what matters - what keeps you awake at night and gets you out of bed every morning. That idea. Your idea.
You deny it and push it away because it seems crazy. Or too hard to reach, too difficult to execute. And since you haven’t seen it anywhere yet, you don’t know if it will “sell”.

But for fuck’s sake, just because you haven’t seen it yet, you should get out there and do the thing.

From coastal photography…

I’ve been there, done that.
About three years ago, roughly half a year after I picked up a camera, I came up with the idea of photographing the Dutch coast. At first, I needed a direction and thought will be good to go with the flow.

I didn’t know yet it wasn’t my flow.

I thought coast meant sea, sand, waves, sunsets, that kind of thing.
I got influenced by other creators and got myself a drone. It was exciting enough to fly around for a couple of months, take some drone shots that looked cool (I thought), and… got bored.

Most of my coastal pictures, even the surf shots taken from the water, were boring too.
Some were maybe pretty, some even cool, but most were totally mediocre, and they didn’t bring anything new.

At least, they didn’t bring me anything new.

I struggled a lot, was sick of it, and about to give up because I didn’t know where to go.
Until one day when somehow, I suddenly changed direction by 180 degrees.
And that was the moment when things finally started going somewhere.

…to my photography

A couple of days ago, I printed a few dozen of my recent pictures from the coast and realized that my absolute favorite photos have little to do with what I once thought coastal photography was.

Of course, there is sand and water in them (sometimes).

But most are odd and often overlooked objects that caught my attention while strolling through the beaches of South and North Holland, and Zeeland. Things I haven’t seen anywhere else, on any social media profile of local coastal photographers.
Things that fascinate me, even though sometimes I still have no idea why.

Intuition doesn’t lie

When I was going through these prints, I had to laugh sometimes.
Like, why the heck, when I just started, didn’t I notice these things at all?

Why all those beautiful and fascinating air-conditioning fans, broken sunbeds and skateboards, old beach cabins didn’t catch my attention, while they were just there, on my path, asking to being photographed?

The answer is very easy, and it’s almost a shame to admit.

If I’m honest with myself, I know I simply didn’t listen to my intuition when it was screaming.

I thought I was going to do what is supposed to be done when it comes to coastal photography: sunsets, sand, colorful skies, and sea.

But, how could I forget, photography is not what you think is supposed to be done.

It is about exploring - but more than the external world, it is about exploring your inner one.
You can’t do it right only if you’re not honest with yourself.

No one can tell you what’s right, what’s interesting, and what is not. If you're fascinated by the ugliest subject there is - fine, go for it. You’re the main character here.

Btw, this all is also a reason to print your photographs sometimes.

But first, go out there and steal the show.

If you want to stop wandering and start developing your style with intention, the 100-Day Photography Programme gives you the structure to do exactly that.
Through 100 short daily prompts and 100+ guided examples it helps you establish a regular practice, and, over time, recognise the motifs and patterns that shape your personal style.

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