this is life and i'm learning how to balance it

I've been taking a break from blogging and taking photos in general.  I haven't been feeling very creative, and my camera is in the same place that it was a week ago.  These photos above are raw and real life, the way I like them.  But at the same time, I desire to improve, I desire to do more with my photography.  These winter weeks have kept me busy, but they have also given me a need to rebrand, work harder, and be the best I can be right now.  I've been saving for a camera upgrade, I'm beginning to plan a rebrand, and I'm excited to be able to start/relaunch the business I've envisioned sometime in the spring/summer!

But the realization is this:  photography isn't everything.  Photography is just a small (very important, but small) part of my life.  There are other things that need my attention, like friendships, school, the future of the next few years.  I don't have to make myself stand out in the photography industry right now.  I don't need to constantly worry about producing better and better content for other's approval.  Photography is just a small part of this crazy life of mine, and I have many more years to become the photographer I want to be.  Right now is time for more important things, and so, I will continue to photograph - because it's what I love to do - but I won't let it become a burden of something I use to impress people.  

adventuring

Brothers are fun to go adventuring with, especially on fifty degree February days.  I call it adventuring, but really, it was just a walk in the woods with our boots and my camera.  This is my brother's element - he likes to say that someday he's going to live in a small cabin in the woods.  And if I'm honest, this is my element too.  I love it.  I don't come out to these woods often enough, but it's one of my favorite things about the place I live.  There's something I love about getting my hands (and my camera) covered in dirt, stepping over fallen branches, noticing small things like deer tracks and glass bottles, and walking paths made by people and animals I will never know.  There's stories that have started in this place - an abandoned beehive sitting on a rotting picnic table, a bridge built by someone long ago, and two rusted chairs on the edge of the creek - stories that I have to finish in my imagination.  I'm going back to this place.  Adventuring is my favorite.  :)