Feeling it Today

Some days I feel young.  Other days I feel old.  Today is the latter.  Yesterday was the former.  As I get older I realize that I can still do things I did when I was younger, but the recuperation time takes a bit longer.  It all reminds me of a couple of lines from the Toby Keith song, As Good As I Once Was.

I ain't as good as I once was
But I'm as good once as I ever was

I don't have the physical prowess I had back a few decades ago, but I can still move and do pretty well.  I think the difference now is that I am smarter and know when I need to make those youthful moves to my advantage instead of just using them all the time for no reason.  I am not better for reserving my strength and ability than a young person.  They should be enjoying their bodies every day.  It is a celebration of life and it also teaches them when they should zig or zag at the right moments.

I think this knowledge of when to zig, zag, or stand to the side applies to art as well.  Even though I continue learning new tricks, techniques and trying new things, I have a pretty good sense what works for me and is part of my art aesthetic.

Most artists start off trying everything, doing everything and exploring.  We push limits, break rules, and have lots of failures.  All this need for experimentation may even go back to when we were babies and we had to stick everything in our mouth.  Over time, we learned what was good to have in our mouth and what wasn't.

My photography continues to evolve... or maybe refine.  I like to use natural light or one or two light sources.  I took a few portrait/lighting classes and experimented with up to six light sources.  That was fun, but I found I work best with only a few and really focus on composition and subject.  That is what works for me.  I've received a few critiques where the critic looked at my photos and could tell they were mine.  The images had a certain level of detail, angles, exposure, mood, lighting, composition, message, etc. that this person could tell that was a Karl photo.

I still feel that youthful spark for my photography.  Put a camera in my hand and I still get a rush to start snapping.  I will even step outside of my normal photographic ways and push boundaries, but I know now that I may "feel" a bit worn out the next day from it.  That is OK, it is usually worth it.

Other sources - Friend UL wrote a good piece today about aging, maturity, and the excess or lack of both.  

Song note - I really like Toby Keith's song and tried to find video of it.  Sadly, the official video is not too good and would not work well with this post.  His lyrics still do though.