Failing is part of the creative process. So often on social media you only see the end product, the shiny highlights of the best.
What we learn from our failures is more important than our success. Making mistakes and failing along the way ultimately makes you a better artist and creative.
This time last year I bought my first ever medium format film camera, the Pentax 645N. I started my photography journey as a teenager on film but had only ever used 35mm.
I thought it would be an easy picking up medium format. I was comfortable with 35mm and the camera had auto focus. I was wrong, and I failed a lot.
I struggled to load the camera for the first 5 rolls, I messed up the metering, the auto focus system didn’t work properly, I manual focused and completely missed the focus. I failed over and over again.
I could have given up and told myself I wasn’t good enough but I kept going. There was magic in the failures, the imperfections had soul and feeling. Something that was my own creative process that couldn’t be replicated by anyone else. I got more comfortable with the camera and began to master it.
It got me thinking about all the messed up rolls of film from when I was a teenager. Not being able to use above 1600 iso in early DSLRs as the digital noise was so bad. The struggles, mistakes and learning along the way shaped who I am as a photographer today.
As technology moves forward, people are starting their photography journey on mirrorless cameras that make the process of taking a photo so easy. Instagram is filled with identical photos, reels telling you how to create what someone else has created. It all just feels the same.
Let’s all embrace the failures, learn slower and create our own authentic viewpoint of the world.
All imperfect but beautiful. All taken #onfilm #pentax645 #120film