Mental Block

I have spent much of my life being relatively untethered.  I was fortunate enough to be raised by parents who supported me in my endeavors and encouraged me to indulge in their endeavors that led me around the country.  

As so happens when one starts to grow up, I have set up roots here in Los Angeles.  Scratch that, I have had roots here...They are just much deeper now.  A wedding in the near future and a mortgage...Yes, a mortgage.  For me, that is about as tied down as it gets, and a few weeks ago my old instincts kicked in to run.  The interesting thing about that desire this time around was that this was the first time I wanted to run with someone.  My reaction became less of one of rejection, and more of an embrace.  Fortunately for me, I have the most understanding of future wives who quickly answered yes when I called her at 10 PM to ask if we could hit the road at 4 AM to catch the sunrise at the Salton Sea. 

We hit the road, I shot some shots, we came home refreshed, we told people about the silly impractical 6-hour trip we made.  The whole purpose of the trip was to shoot photos, but then the photos just sat there. I hated them.  I wrestled with them for weeks, color, black and white, crop, delete.  The irony that my quest for creative release would only lead to more creative block. 

I chalked the photos up as a loss, a good story, and a Sunday morning with my future wife.  Every time I opened lightroom though I would start poking around these photos.  All the sudden they started to look different, I didn't hate them anymore.  I was inspired by images friends had shared with me, new skills I had learned, and new ideas.  All this combined with a little bit of talking myself into letting go, lead to some images I am actually really proud of. 

So here are some images.  They are not perfect, but I have wrestled with them so they are mine and I am proud of them.