Feeling Off, Finding Focus

I haven’t posted a blog for a couple of weeks now, and there’s a reason for that.

I’ve been feeling off for a while and kept putting it down to fatigue — my usual habit of overdoing things and pushing through when I probably shouldn’t. About four weeks ago, I headed out to change the batteries and memory cards in my woodland trail cameras. While I was there, I had a wander through the woods and came across a fox den. To my surprise, there were two foxes using it.

I spent a little time watching from a distance, taking in the area and already thinking ahead to when the weather picks up so I can return and hopefully set up for some photos.

The very next morning, I felt really unwell. Again, I blamed fatigue. The day after that, I couldn’t even get out of bed — and I stayed there for five days. I assumed it was flu. When I finally managed to get up, I was still incredibly ill, far worse than I expected.

I’m now into my fourth week and although I’m improving, I still feel a bit rough. It got to the point where my wife made me go to the doctors. Turns out it was Covid — my lungs were rattling and I was put on a week of antibiotics. I’ve finished the course now and I’m definitely on the mend, even if I’m not quite myself yet.

Strangely enough, being forced to slow down has made me stop and re-evaluate a few things.

I’ve recently started doing something new with my photo descriptions on social media, adding more meaning and storytelling to each image — and I’m really enjoying the process. It’s even got me thinking about possibly creating one or two one-off tabletop photography books to see how they go.

I know my photography is good — and I also know it can always be better. Composition, more than anything, is where I’m focusing right now.

When I first started photography, I began with a compact camera, then moved on to a bridge camera before eventually stepping up to a DSLR. Looking back, I’m so glad I did it that way. It forced me to understand the exposure triangle, to think about framing, and to work with what I had rather than relying on expensive equipment.

I’ve seen so many people jump straight in with long telephoto lenses and expect amazing results straight away. They look at professional photos online and assume the gear will do the work for them. Sadly, it doesn’t work like that — if only it did!

Starting at the bottom and working my way up taught me to push my cameras to their limits and really understand what they’re capable of. That foundation has made such a difference to my photography journey.

There will always be room to improve — and I actually love that. Right now, composition is my main focus, and I’m hoping you’ll start to see that growth in my images.

I’ll be continuing with the trail camera footage too, and I’m experimenting with ways to improve that side of things. I’ve also got plans this year to explore more macro photography, which I’m really excited about.

Now that I’m finally on the mend, it feels like everything is slowly coming back together. I’m looking forward to seeing just how far I can take this journey.