The Start of Something — Peter Stanislaus

The thing that has always been a struggle for me is that I identify as a creative person, but I have always been terrified of judgment. I am someone who feels depleted if I am not learning and practicing. I crave the creative process but I am often times too worried about if I did it properly. In my adult life, I have made a semi-pathetic attempt at letting that go. Letting art and writing be something that I do because of how it makes me feel rather than how good it is. Creation is not a hobby that you earn, as I have viewed it in the past. Creation is a means to purpose, a fuel for the future.

Photography is something that has been in and out of my life for as long as I can remember. For some reason, without much provoking, my parents put me in photography lessons as a kid. It was brief, unappreciated and mostly forgotten. But as I rediscovered photography, the irony of reconnecting was not lost on me. That being said, I do not pretend to understand photography or to be great at photography. Photography is simply something that I want to experience.

As I have progressed through this new path, I found myself shooting what people might like compared to what I think is interesting. I saw a path of shooting for Instagram "likes" for affirmation that I am doing it right. That path would have rendered this exercise in creation useless.

That is what this website is about. Throwing myself into public creation. Forcing myself to say this is what I have created. These are the thoughts I have. Not because I think they are correct, or important. Not because I think my images are of technical excellence or tell an admirable story. Instead, the purpose is to tell my story for being just that. This website is simply a medium separate from the confines of social media. A motivation to take photographs instead of Instagram posts and to write essays rather than status updates.

I hope to use this space to grow my comfort with creation. If you are going to join me on this journey, there are a few things you should know about me. I am impulsive, obsessive, and often times flighty. I love to write, but my grammar and spelling are what nightmares are made of (sorry Ron). This is new to me so bear with me as I find my way.

Cheers,