Last week I wrote about my big photography week off, how things didn’t work out quite as planned, but that hopefully some good pictures were made. I also talked about planning, and the more I think about it, so much in our lives seem to be planned and/or structured in some way. Now here’s something different … how about just meandering about in your car, on your bike, or even on foot with no specific destination in mind and just get lost. That’s right … get lost! You may be surprised at what you might find and see.  Don’t worry … your phone has GPS on it so you will find your way home when you’re done … well hopefully.  Actually, once my GPS lost it’s mind and kept taking me in circles in Seattle. Another time I was following it obediently and it directed me to a dead end. Not helpful. But again, don’t worry the likelihood of that happening is supposedly low.

So I think it’s healthy to get lost. In fact, I’ve been told to get lost a number of times and all’s well in my life, photographically and otherwise.  As I mentioned last time, in my meandering I ended up finding some new things I never knew about not far from where I live. I also made some pictures of things I’ve passed by a million times that upon closer inspection turned out to be more interesting than I thought!

So here’s the thing, it’s a great idea to sometimes ditch the plan or put it on hold and just try somewhere new, and not necessarily far away.  And while you’re at it be really open to observing what you are passing by.  There are many new worlds close by just waiting to be explored and gems to be captured.

Even if you don’t get lost and are driving or walking on familiar territory you can think of it as something new and different.  Recently I got together with a famous photographer/artist I know. She said she needed to pay more attention to a road she’s driven on millions of times because she realized there are some great photo opportunities to explore.

Look, I’m not giving up my projects or my plans, but I’m going to concentrate more on getting lost.  I think doing this will create a better balance in my photographic life and relieve any stress related to plans that don’t go as expected or projects that don’t get done during the expected timeframe. And the surprises will be all the more exciting! This may work for you too. Give it a try!

Stay well,

Michael