It’s the season for New Year’s Resolutions of course, and there’s no doubt that having goals can help direct your work for the year, and keep you focused when you lose a little motivation.Setting goals is valuable, but publicising them even more so – there’s more commitment involved in making your goals public.So here are my photography goals for the year (in no particular order):
Read a photography book a month
There’s so much I don’t know about the photography world, so I’ll be trying to plug some of the gaps with my reading this year. Some books will be aimed at improving my technique, but I’ll also read some history and criticism books, to get me some much-needed context.
Plan and shoot some thematic projects
Rather than just having my camera with me and shooting what I can get (although, that works well sometimes), I want to be a bit more considered about things too. So that means thinking about some topics, themes or places to explore, and follow through with those.This year, for example, one of the most fruitful afternoons was spent shooting the Route 66 era motel signs in town, and these need a visit at night.
Show my work in an exhibition
This is a big one. Santa Fe has a great photography gallery scene, but I’m not Ansel Adams or Elliott Erwitt. So instead, I’m aiming at the number of cafes, restaurants and other locations that display work in town..
Revisit successful subjects
The summer concert series on the Plaza, the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta (shown above), Fiestas, the Farolito walk on Christmas Eve (shown here) – New Mexico has a lot of photogenic events, so I’m going to pencil these in as obvious places to go back to.
Limit the gear spending
I was largely starting from scratch in 2007, but now I’m very well kitted out, and need to resist the temptation to spend more time and money lusting after new gear. There are a couple of items on my list – a monopod and a new monitor – but that’s it. It’s about taking the pictures, not continuously planning the next step up in equipment.
Talk to Pro Photographers
I’ve lucky enough to know several excellent professional photographers (I’m even building websites for a couple of them), but as yet I’ve been reluctant to talk to them about my interest (and especially my work). When my book came out, I remember how much I enjoyed talking to amateur writers about craft, and trying to give them what help and advice I could. I should get over my reticence and start some conversations.
Attend Flickr meetups
There’s an active Flickr social network in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, but I’ve not yet managed to join them for their frequent meetups. This year, for sure.
The New Year starts now
There are other things I could probably include, but if I get all these done next year, I’ll be very happy. What are you planning for 2008?Update: Photojojo also has some good resolutions