Creativity

Being a better photographer gets harder the better you get

Lately I have been frustrating myself with my work and it’s made me think about how I have grown in skill and my creative path forward. Sitting down and thinking about why my work wasn’t meeting my expectations was an interesting exercise.

The question to myself was, why am I not having the same enjoyment when I photograph as I used too? It seemed that often, I would go out to make some photographs and come back more frustrated than refreshed. Up until recently I would take my camera for a shoot, planned or impromptu, and would come back excited, refreshed and clear minded. This wasn’t happening lately.

under a bridge on ramp
On Ramp. Pentax ME Super, 28mm f11, 125th sec. Ilford HP5+, Rodinal 1:50

At first I thought it was my tools. Did I need a new lens to get the mojo back? What is wrong with my film process, do I need to change to a different film or developer? Maybe a new camera will help…

These are the obvious things many photographers look at to improve their work. In my opinion it’s a fools errand. When I thought about it more I realized all of my best work was made with the exact same cameras, lenses and process that I still use today. The tools haven’t just fallen apart, it was how I was using them. More importantly how I was seeing.

The biggest realization I have had after digging deep on why I was feeling frustrated about my work was that, as I have improved with my photography my expectations for results has increased. When I first started to take photography seriously as a form of expression I would get a photograph I was happy with one out of maybe fifty exposures. Looking back at them today the keepers are not up to my standards now. So I didn’t have much consistency when I began.

Holes in the Water. Pentax ME super, 50mm f8, 500th sec. Kodak TriX400, Rodinal 1:50

Now that my consistency has improved and I can make photographs that I see in my head before pushing the shutter, my expectations for results are much higher. I found myself taking less photographs because the scene before me wasn’t perfect. I would make excuses for the bad light or cluttered scene etc. I lost my spontaneity when looking at the world around me. I unintentionally put myself in a creative box.

What I have learned after spending some time thinking, looking back and examining how I work today is that I need to :

  • Have no expectations, stop swinging for the fence every time
  • Embrace creative failure, it leads to success in the long run
  • Shoot more, put in the reps to keep my creative eye in shape
  • Stay open to photographs I wasn’t looking for, take the shot just in case it works
  • Boring today doesn’t mean boring tomorrow
  • Really good photographs take a lot of time and energy, it’s not easy and never will be
Short Hose. Pentax ME super, 50mm f8, 500th sec. Kodak TriX400, Rodinal 1:50

After realizing that I need to change my approach and the way I see I needed to start putting it into practice. Over the last few weeks I have carved out some regular time to just go out and shoot. Good light, bad light no matter the situation, no excuses.

Since I have changed my mindset and approach I can say that I have been having a lot more fun and getting photographs I am pretty happy with. Some may not amount to much but some I am really pleased with. The thing is, it is leading me in new directions and focuses on what I want to create in the coming weeks and months. I am back on track, today anyway.

Bottoms Up. Pentax ME super, 50mm f8, 500th sec. Kodak TriX400, Rodinal 1:50

If you are a photographer or creative that is facing a stalemate in your creative practice I would recommend taking some time to re evaluate, meditate or take a close look at your motives, past work, goals etc. It’s easy for someone to tell you to be more spontaneous but it really sinks in when you come to that realization yourself through the work of self reflection.

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Behind the Shot

Vision, persistence and putting them together in photography

When I moved to where I live now five years ago, I started scouting areas to see what interesting places I could find in my area that would be good to explore for some black and white photographs. Many day trips to small towns, restaurants, museums and hikes in the woods. So far, I have found some great communities, not as many great places to eat and a few hidden spots in the woods.

One particular spot isn’t far from my home. It’s only 11 miles away so it was one of the first places I discovered that I wanted to photograph. It is a waterfall tucked back into a bluff feeding into the Saint Croix River. I am a sucker for a good black and white waterfall photograph.

However, it was late summer when I came across the location. The water of the spring fed stream was low and barely flowing at a trickle. It had potential but wasn’t what it could be if it were early summer or spring. I made a note of it and thought I would return the next season.

The next season I returned in spring, but the area was experiencing drought conditions. I returned a few times that spring and early summer, but I struck out getting the photograph I had hoped to. “Next year”, I said.

The following spring there was more than average snow melt and rain. I thought “all right! this should be a great year for the water flow” I packed up my gear with great expectations. When I arrived at the trail head, which was along a larger riverbank, the whole trail was under feet of water. Strike two.

“Flow” Mamiya 645, 80mm lens, Kentmere 100 © 2025 Derek Lofgreen, All Rights Reserved

This year, I was more determined than excited to try and get this shot. I was expecting it to be low flow again, but I had to see for sure. I had an hour to spare in between some commitments, and I was in the area. I had packed my camera with hopes I could take a quick look and maybe get a grab shot and return if it was looking good.

It is a 15-minute hike to these falls from the trail head. That meant I only had 30 minutes on location to find a composition and take my shot. As I started to round the bend to the falls, I could hear something but didn’t know if it was traffic on a nearby road or the water over the falls. When I arrived at the location, low and behold, the water was flowing beautifully.

The scene below the falls was a lot more chaotic than I remembered from the last time I was there. Holding a lot of debris that had gathered after coming over the fall from the winter thaw. This presented another obstacle to my preconceived vision of the shot. Scrambling over deadfall trees, logs and forest chowder, I scouted around for a composition and set up my shot. I only had time for one set up and I wanted it to count.

I could have let the obstacles stop me from executing on my creative vision. The conditions not being right over and over, the limited time I had when I found the right conditions and the challenge of finding a composition when the location looked different than I expected. Many times, I find myself pushing through to overcome disappointment or challenge to get my final vision manifested in a photograph.

I will return to this spot because now that I have this image, I am more intrigued with the location and want to see what other compositions I can find that will convey the calmness of the flowing water.

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Photographic Prints

Objects of Desire

The practice of photography means different things to different people. There are the casual photo snappers all the way to serious practitioners of the art and craft. With different experiences and motivations to make photographs, the end results can vary wildly. For me, the end result is not simply a great image I can share on social media or look at on a screen. I want an artifact that I can hold in my hands. A printed photograph.

The combination of the paper, chosen by the artist to best enhance the presentation of the image printed on it, and perhaps the mat and framing all come together as the final artifact. One that will last on it’s own without support from some other technology. No batteries or screens required. It exists. It is.

Framed black and white prints on view to see as objects in themselves.

I can see amazing images online and be impressed, moved emotionally and have great respect for the effort made to create the image. I can say that I have never told myself “I have to have that image on my hard drive”. Not once. However, when I go to a gallery, art show or museum and see art on display, I find myself wanting the “thing” on the wall. It becomes an object that I desire. I want it because it is a real thing.

I want to touch on another thing an artifact brings. Perceived value. Maybe I am old fashioned in my thinking, but I can’t seem to feel that a digital file has as much value as a physical object. There is extra effort to bring an idea into a physical representation of that original idea. For example if a sculptor created a 3D model of a piece and then actually made some bronze castings of the piece the bronze artwork will have more value than just the digital file. The same principle applies for a digital image or even a film negative for that matter.

Photographs that you can touch and feel have a greater perceived value than a digital image on a screen.

We are being bombarded with digital imagery with social media, online news outlets and even snaps on a phone shared directly. It is almost overwhelming. With the volume of digital images it gives us the impression that it is commonplace and the value of a good photograph is diminished. When a photograph is printed, it demonstrates that the artist took the effort, from time of capture, through processing and printing to the final result. The artifact. This increases the perceived value of the photograph.

Printing a photograph takes some effort. Even before the digital photography era photographers didn’t print every image they captured. Contact sheets helped the photographer choose the keepers and ones to pursue to a final print. I enjoy having final prints that I can sit down with and look at in my hands. Sitting with a box of final prints or a book of a photographers work and slowly looking and internalizing the photograph is almost a therapeutic process. I can turn off all my distractions, computer, TV, Phone etc. and enjoy without any interruptions.

Box of prints that can be viewed with a nice cup of (insert your favorite beverage) without interruptions.

I guess what it comes down to and what I am trying to say, is that a printed photograph is important in any photographers practice. If you are a photographer who doesn’t print often or at all, I would encourage you to print your work. There is a next level of understanding and learning you will gain when you do.

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If you like the content I post here on the blog then maybe you will be interested in my email newsletter. I send them out with other news, thoughts and tips on photography as well special print offers. Add your email in the form below. You can unsubscribe anytime, you won’t hurt my feelings.

Black and white is the first step to abstraction