the Sun is coming out
it is very, very cold this morning
but like almost every day for the past 3 months
I'm gonna go on the same walk with my camera in hand
looking for some images to make
quite literally
with the exception of just a handful of images I made in San Francisco during a family trip
all of my photography this winter was done here
within 3-4 square miles
along a 5-mile-long trail that I walk almost every day
well, they call it "trail"
but as you'll see most of the time it's just a sidewalk
but there are some beautiful spots along it, like this one right here
you know about my favorite light
they put the trash can there
but I still made an image that I like the other day
it was snowing at night and it was beautiful here
this part of my photography is much harder to share with all of you in a video
because I just don't know when it's going to happen
and in any case, even though I always bring a camera with me
many times I come back empty-handed, with no images whatsoever
I'm going to try, but I'm afraid that today is going to be one of those days
it's very, very rare that I bring back a good image
this can be very frustrating because we don't see any progress
but as they say, we tend to overestimate how much we can do in one day
and to underestimate how much we can do in a few months or a year
it is now, when I sit down to look at the images that I've made this winter
that I realize that I've made quite a few of them that I like
the same happened when I started working on my new book, "Memorias na néboa"
which by the way, you might have missed
but I have a new book
it's available now on my website
it's a book that I made over the years during my walks in my hometown in Spain
because I do the same thing over there
I go on walks every single day with my camera and I try to find images
but like here, most days I come back with nothing or just junk
some days, though, I do find some magic
so when I sat down and I started to put the book together
I was quite overwhelmed by the amount of good images that I had collected over the years
even though a good image only comes around every several walks
because I did it so often, I ended up having so many images to select from for my book
it was a great reminder of the power of adding up
of doing something little by little, of adding just a little bit every day
one image at a time
you
just never know what you're going to find
even some things that don't work today, like this fence that I have behind me
but might work in some different conditions
I was actually taking photos here just a few days ago
the conditions were very different as I said
it was snowy, it was beautiful
so the snow added some contrast between the fence and the ground
that contrast doesn't exists now but it might exist in one week from now
so you always have to keep trying, because things keep changing all the time
this approach is quite the opposite of what I was doing just a few months ago
when I was living on the road, in Norway
when I was exploring and photographing that beautiful country
I was taking dozens, if not hundreds of photographs every day
I loved the novelty, because every place was new and exciting
this is quite the opposite, it's the same spots, the same places day after day after day
it's the same trees
the same houses
the same paths
the same deer
it was quite the change, it was quite the adjustment
it is harder to see, it's harder to find an image here, it's much more challenging
at the same time, that makes it more rewarding
but I promise you, I promise you
there is always an image to be made
no matter what you're doing, no matter where you are
I've talked before about how constraints can spark your creativity
and this winter I totally embraced the constraint of location
I must admit that the snow made things much easier for me
again, as I said, a few days ago I was taking photos of just houses around town
I love those images
I was taking photos of benches
all of that stuff looks amazing with snow, things that wouldn't work otherwise
so I've been lucky in that sense
even though we only had snow a handful of days this winter
I was hoping for much more snow but
what can you do?
you know I'm a huge advocate of daily photography
I've made quite a few videos about this topic
because I think... not only it can produce great images
but mainly because it's great practice, and it keeps you thirsty for more
it was at this time exactly 3 years ago that I was in Spain
the lockdown had just begun
I had no idea that I was going to spend 3 months in a farm
but I did
so I was a very limited, even more limited than I am right now
I had to cancel a trip to Iceland
I haven't been to Iceland just yet
and instead, I got to stay in my parents farm for 3 months
so as you can imagine, it wasn't great
but it was an eye-opening experience
because somehow I still managed to make some good photos
photos that made it into my books, photos that I still love today
looking back, I do see that period of time as a period of growth in my photography
I think that my photography got better after that
because I saw potential where maybe before I wasn't seen so much
and now, instead of feeling bad because I don't get to go to exotic locations
I just embrace wherever I am I try to make the most out of it
this being said, things are about to change soon
I'm going on a camping trip next week
I'm very, very excited
it's been a while
and I'll be in Spain in just a few weeks
I have a car there, so I'll be doing much more traveling over there
but I like to think that these 3 months here, this winter here in Indiana
is going to pay off, even more than it already has
I think it's been a great learning experience
I think that my photography is gonna grow because of this
because I forced myself, because I pushed myself to do all of my photography
within the boundaries of this town
and with all the limitations that come with that
now, I don't want you to think that I'm saying that you should not travel
travel as often as you can, of course
go to new places
but please, please don't forget about photography in between trips
please, please keep in mind that there is always a photograph to take
and remember that it takes time
anything meaningful takes time
meaningful work, meaningful art, takes time
so be patient
okay, and that's gonna do it for today
I'm going back home with no photographs at all
it's just too cold, I'm freezing out here
please, go check out my book
thank you so much for watching
and see you in the next one!