I just completed processing my latest films from Brazil, Bolivia and also some other trips I did this year. There is now a pile of films sitting waiting to be edited.
But I have this photo below - of my light table a few days ago etched in my mind.
I have too much to do right now, that doesn’t allow me time to edit the work, so while I am busy doing daily life chores, I am finding that I can’t help but visualise the final portfolio from my Bolivia tour. As much as I keep returning to the same places, I feel I’ve moved on as a photographer and I’m less and less interested in the literal view.
So I’m kind of enjoying the dreaming process I’m going through right now. I have been convinced for many years that one should collate and sort out their most recent images (RAW files), and just get a ‘feel’ for the work, before approaching doing anything with them. For me, that’s all about processing the films, collecting them into piles of transparencies, and glancing at what I’ve shot. The main thing is not to launch straight into editing the work.
I think I see a very different set of images from Bolivia for this time round, and if anything, just realising that I have so many potential images to work on, and that some of them are surfacing quite often in my thoughts is a good thing. Whether the final portfolio will be anything like I am imagining isn’t of any importance. It’s more about just finding that you are feeling inspired, and that your mind is dreaming, wondering, conjuring up different feelings and emotions about what you shot, that is what drives me forward.
I’ve got to go away for a few days, but I am now finding myself quite keen to look at this work next week when I have some time. This is another aspect for me; I do not like to edit images piecemeal, with only a few minutes free here and there. I like to have a good chunk of free time to do it, as I find I tend to become immersed in it. So for me, allocating two or three full days is ideal. I realise that this isn’t feasible for most folks, but for me, I’ve always enjoyed the solitude and I like to give myself plenty of space and time to work on images.