I forget how much value Cal Newport provided to me in the past. And I do love the idea of seasonality. I remember watching the Magnum Learn course by Gregory Halpern and felt aghast at the thought of sitting on years of images that haven’t been widely displayed in the hopes that it would be edited into a cohesive project or book. I always felt like I had to share images quickly and constantly out of fear of losing traction or interest in my work by those who mattered to me. But by doing that, I fast passed myself into boredom with my own work, realizing I had only provided myself temporary relief from not taking photos I wanted to take by taking any photos at all.
During Covid, I felt like that was a season of tightening up my photo editing skills. Couldn’t take any real photos with everything shut down so might as well prepare for the day that I could. That ended up taking me down a path of being interested in film photography because I was curious how digital compared to analog. Then analog prints. All of these things feeling like seasons on a larger scale like how one year on Jupiter is the equivalent of several years on earth.
Last year, I was diagnosed with ADHD, which in hindsight affected my life in countless ways all of which had made life more challenging than it did making it easy, and the combination of new medication and my years of therapy made me feel so differently when it came to making work. I feel ok with pausing taking photos because I can explore other interests and not feel guilty about it. And I have found that those other interests influence the direction of my photo making and provide clarity on the WHY the things that grab my attention do, which again helps point me in a direction/s to travel.
In reading your post, I love the idea of labeling the “season.” Collecting, sifting, etc. I think labeling provides a certain level of intentionality like “THIS is what I am doing NOW.” This labeling or naming or describing is something I want to bring to my own life as I think this would aid in providing more focus for how I want to utilize my time.
Anyways, lovely reading your thoughts.
P.S. Seeing that Pocari Sweat label triggers such a vivid memory of how thirst quenching one of those bottles was after hiking in Kyoto without water or cash to buy a drink and finally making it back down to an ATM.
Always a pleasure to hear your thoughts, Sean. My diagnosis changed my entire view of myself and how to better lean in to my strengths and forgive myself for my weaknesses. It's a journey and some days are good and some days are very not good. Each day is different, but I've gone through such a transformation in the last three years (diagnosed in 2022) and it's all because I finally have information to understand what's going on.
The seasonality stuff comes into play in different levels based on that info, I guess. I use my mornings in ways I don't use my afternoons or evenings. I know what time of day I start to crash and burn out, so I fence myself into the things that work for those times. Better use of the knowledge about myself helps so much.
It's honestly creative labor to figure out how to structure days, life, etc. But that is the real answer, I think. Structure. My brain behaves without structure, so adding it in where I can helps fence me into better places where I can excel at what I'm good at.
From one Pocari lover to another... : ) ✌️ Thanks for reading and sharing, my friend!
I forget how much value Cal Newport provided to me in the past. And I do love the idea of seasonality. I remember watching the Magnum Learn course by Gregory Halpern and felt aghast at the thought of sitting on years of images that haven’t been widely displayed in the hopes that it would be edited into a cohesive project or book. I always felt like I had to share images quickly and constantly out of fear of losing traction or interest in my work by those who mattered to me. But by doing that, I fast passed myself into boredom with my own work, realizing I had only provided myself temporary relief from not taking photos I wanted to take by taking any photos at all.
During Covid, I felt like that was a season of tightening up my photo editing skills. Couldn’t take any real photos with everything shut down so might as well prepare for the day that I could. That ended up taking me down a path of being interested in film photography because I was curious how digital compared to analog. Then analog prints. All of these things feeling like seasons on a larger scale like how one year on Jupiter is the equivalent of several years on earth.
Last year, I was diagnosed with ADHD, which in hindsight affected my life in countless ways all of which had made life more challenging than it did making it easy, and the combination of new medication and my years of therapy made me feel so differently when it came to making work. I feel ok with pausing taking photos because I can explore other interests and not feel guilty about it. And I have found that those other interests influence the direction of my photo making and provide clarity on the WHY the things that grab my attention do, which again helps point me in a direction/s to travel.
In reading your post, I love the idea of labeling the “season.” Collecting, sifting, etc. I think labeling provides a certain level of intentionality like “THIS is what I am doing NOW.” This labeling or naming or describing is something I want to bring to my own life as I think this would aid in providing more focus for how I want to utilize my time.
Anyways, lovely reading your thoughts.
P.S. Seeing that Pocari Sweat label triggers such a vivid memory of how thirst quenching one of those bottles was after hiking in Kyoto without water or cash to buy a drink and finally making it back down to an ATM.
Always a pleasure to hear your thoughts, Sean. My diagnosis changed my entire view of myself and how to better lean in to my strengths and forgive myself for my weaknesses. It's a journey and some days are good and some days are very not good. Each day is different, but I've gone through such a transformation in the last three years (diagnosed in 2022) and it's all because I finally have information to understand what's going on.
The seasonality stuff comes into play in different levels based on that info, I guess. I use my mornings in ways I don't use my afternoons or evenings. I know what time of day I start to crash and burn out, so I fence myself into the things that work for those times. Better use of the knowledge about myself helps so much.
It's honestly creative labor to figure out how to structure days, life, etc. But that is the real answer, I think. Structure. My brain behaves without structure, so adding it in where I can helps fence me into better places where I can excel at what I'm good at.
From one Pocari lover to another... : ) ✌️ Thanks for reading and sharing, my friend!