[Kombisaurus]

The sports and event shooting I've been doing over the last year or so has been a fantastic experience for me. I love doing it and I continue to learn a lot from it, and I'm happy that it has finally begun to pay for my gear. I'm not about to quit my day job, but it's nice to be able to buy a lens guilt-free knowing it was paid for by my photography rather than my 9-5 job.

The skills, habits and workflow I've been developing through this sports and event shooting has influenced all my other photography too. This is mostly for the better, but also a little for the worse.
I am more efficient and disciplined in my approach to photography now. The camera feels like an extension of my body and I can operate it blindfolded with confidence. I'm more aware of action around me. I'm beginning to think ahead and anticipate people's actions rather than responding to things after they happen. I also look not just for the action, but for reactions of other people moments after which often make the best photos. These are just a few of the many useful skills that get practiced every time I shoot sports or events. I've certainly still got a lot to learn, but compared to 12 months ago I feel I'm making progress.

I spent a lot of time streamlining my workflow at the end of last year and have cut my post-processing time by well over half while easily doubling my yield of keepers which I'm very happy with. These days I feel I can get the shot I'm after with much less time and fuss than I ever used to. The shots might still be lousy, but I get those lousy shots easier than ever!

But all that comes at a cost.
I miss the slow relaxed style of exploration I used to really enjoy, and a streamlined workflow means I no longer get many "lucky mistakes" that lead me somewhere completely new. I have certain expectations of myself now, and that worries me. I feel like I'm painting myself into a corner.

A suitable traffic metaphor might be that I've replaced a slow windy road with a freeway... It's great to be able to get from A to B more quickly than ever, but when I'm not in a hurry I no longer sit back and enjoy the journey. Progress is great, except when it isn't.

So one of the reasons I ordered some photography books recently was to inspire me to slow down and get back to basics a bit and re-open my mind to all the infinite possibilities. To get off the freeway and back on the slow windy road and enjoy the ride.

But now I've been doing nothing but thinking and reading about photography for a few weeks and done very little actual shooting. It's time I got off my butt and out the door with my camera in hand! The ideas are all out there waiting for me to come to them.

I'd be interested to hear how are other people are feeling their own photography is going?
Are you full of enthusiasm? Bored? Making steady progress? Where do you see yourself going?