About three years ago you gave me the book "Annie Leibovitz at work" for Christmas". I have a very strange / stupid way with coffee table books – a stupid term anyway – or exhibition catalogues which is I am fascinated by them but I never really, really look at them. Same with Leibowitz's book. I was so excited and surprised when you gave it to me... you rarely gave "surprise presents"... But I suddenly started flipping through it again.
She describes her years in school in San Francisco, how she walked around with her camera every morning. If you don't have your camera with you you can't take the picture. You have to train yourself and your eye in order to find the image...
Somehow I lost the ability to just go out, walk around and take pictures of something, anything, really. I used to do it all the time, I was very serious about it. My excuse to stop was / is that Munich doesn't offer too many exciting views. The truth is, however, after several years in New York I had become lazier camera wise, too. I switched to video, had a new incentive and focus until it faded little by little. Once out of college and in the working world everything changes again. Assignments become projects, projects becomes jobs, jobs become chores. I realize that I don't take myself as serious anymore. Spending time on something has to be goal-oriented, meaning money. Not very helpful for the creative, artistic process.
Starting today I will take my camera and go out looking for the image. My second New Years resolution since yesterday. It is in fact my middle of the month resolution. Write every day, just a little, sketch something and concentrate on photography for 25 min every day whether it is editing or shooting. We'll talk again in June. I'll keep you posted.
