A new year brings the opportunity for new beginnings; many of us make resolutions to do things that we didn’t or couldn’t do the year before. Whether it be working out more or making more images, it is important not only to embrace what is possible during the coming year but also to allow ourselves to start fresh. By starting fresh, I mean forgetting about the failures or shortcomings of years past. While it is important to remember the things that those failures and shortcomings taught us, it is just as important to leave those things in the past.
To truly reap the rewards of new beginnings, we must learn to let go of the things and feelings that tie us to the past. We must learn to iterate and to carry only the best part of ourselves forward. Iteration in my working world is all about taking what works and improving upon what doesn’t. It is very much the same when it comes to finding our creative-selves. The only way we can make better images is to learn from the images that work and improve upon the ones that don’t. I know this may all seem simple enough, but it is sometimes harder than we think to let go of those images that simply don’t work; to let them move into our archives so we can move forward with our best and most promising work.
It has certainly been a year of new beginnings for me; professionally, personally, and creatively. I am looking forward to the things that await me in 2012 and I hope you all are too. Happy New Year!
