In a world of fast fashion, mediocre coffee and an overwhelming amount of underappreciated art; I was feeling bankrupt, deprived and disappointed with life. It was heavily affecting my creativity and impacting my photography.

tree                                                                           Ilford HP5 400 ISO 35mm shot on Canon AE-1

I meditated about it continuously; I became conscious of the world around me affecting my photography, I was being over indulgent of Instagram and other social media platforms and my perception of art had become dismissive and disrespectful.

                                                                           Ilford HP5 400 ISO 35mm shot on Canon AE-1

 

I was thumbing through thousands of images potentially hundreds of times a day with only judgement in my eyes. I had no respect or appreciation for the artists’ hard work and moxie to post something for the world to see. Even though I’d put the work into what the problem was I didn’t know how to remedy it.   

Ray                                            Ilford HP5 400 ISO 35mm shot on Canon AE-1

I was sitting in a Starbucks line, early in the morning; I must have been there for at least twenty-five minutes waiting for ‘mediocre at best’ coffee.  Deep in Instagram when my son in the backseat says “Mom, what were phones like when you were a kid?” I of course explained the simplicity of phones in the 90s, I asked him why he was curious and he responded,

“Everyone is looking down and I’m looking up”

lightbulb                                                          Ilford HP5 400 ISO 35mm shot on Canon AE-1

I rapidly understood and accepted that the problem had poured over onto more than just my art. Something had to be done, immediately. I ditched the smart phone, enlightened myself with a dumb phone. Deleted all of the social media apps off of all of my devices, I now use my IPhone 8 Plus in the best ways possible only for podcast listening. I now have so much more time to work on my own visions of where I want my photography to go. I am not trying to emulate a cheap knock off version of something I saw and liked on Instagram. I also learned I don’t even like half of the styles of photography I tried so hard to recreate. I evaluated myself and I found I didn’t like the type of photography I was capturing. After rethinking my whole process, I now have goals set for projects that are meaningful and important to me. I am looking for art and inspiration in tangible places. I love spending more quality time with my family and friends. Having a digital detox from the multimedia world of photography, could be beneficial.

tracy1                                             FujiFilm Neopan 100 Acros 35mm shot on Canon AE-1

 

Photos and Blog
By: Carollynn Anne of Action Camera 
Carollynn@actioncamera.com