Moving on or moving forward

What does a fresh start mean to you?

With 2020 being the start of a new decade it’s a great time to look forward, think about what new beginnings mean to you and for you. What have you always wanted to do that you haven’t? This could be a trip you’ve been wanting to take, a skill you would love to learn or a personal project that has been sitting on the back burner. Take some time and consider the meaning of a fresh start for you personally.

Moving into the next year and decade

What does it take to move on or move forward? Make the new year and new decade exciting and fun for yourself. Letting go of the past isn’t always easy for everyone, but it will help you to create a new starting point and push through to those things you always wanted to do.

Make some decisions

Create a list of what it is you want to start, don’t hold back and put it all down. Then narrow it down, and choose one that you’re most passionate about. Maybe you have something you started previously but never finished and now would be a great time to get back to it or start over.

Start now

Now what? You know what it is you want to work on or strive for so what’s next? Start. Start now. It could be as simple as writing it in the calendar. Take some action to work on whatever it is you chose.

Get a little help from friends

When working on these types of goals it helps to have an accountability partner. It makes it a little more difficult to not follow through when you have someone you are checking in with. A friend or partner will help also make it more fun for you and you’ll have support for the times when you’re feeling like you are stuck or maybe want to give up on the project.

Make it easy for yourself

Keep your project in front of you, somewhere you see it or are reminded of it every day. Take little steps, make your goals small and achievable. What can you do today to take action and move forward?

Start now

Yes, this was already stated but it’s the most important thing you can do in starting fresh and creating a new beginning for yourself, your project and moving into this new decade. Start. Now.

Inside BootCamp Magazine

Featured Artist

Let’s take a look at this month’s magazine. Here is our featured artist of the month, Sara O’Brien, from the United States.

For her featured image, she said after looking at Nick’s macro image she remembered she had a few things in her camera bag that she hadn’t looked at much when she purchased her Nikon D5600. Sara got a 0.43 Vivitar 55mm wide angle lens with Macro. As the winter weather in Minnesota is not conducive to flowers and insects, she thought she would try taking images of something around the house. This is part of a Christmas gift she got a few years ago when her parents lived in Colorado. Long story, not that short, Sara decided this was an interesting image to start off with.

Comment: Wanda Lach – “The best part of macro photography is that almost everything has a ‘secret’ side. It’s great trying to guess what the images are of – a great guessing game! nice colours too.”

Cover Image

This month’s magazine cover image is from Kathleen Feeley from the United States. Don’t know if it’s a coincidence or a cosmic connection, but like Brent, Kathleen has taken up music again. She bought herself an electronic keyboard for Christmas. Kathleen played the piano when she was younger but lost touch when pursuing other creative interests. Music, photography and writing are the passions she plans to continue and improve this year. Here’s to a heartful and artful 2020!

Active Members

Let’s take a look at what a fresh start means to the BootCamp members who have taken some time to consider what that means to them for this coming year and put it into a photograph.

Starting with Janette Planck from Australia. This was her third attempt at long exposure for her 2020 fresh start. This image was taken at MacKenzie Falls, Grampian National Park.

Comment: Tamar Aharony – “Beautiful long exposure picture. You could have even gone a little longer. I love how the colors in the sky and the rocks combine together beautifully. I think that maybe shooting vertically would have allowed you to capture a little more of the top of the waterfall as well as more of the river.”

Next we have Esther Iglich from the United States. She never uses a tripod much when she traveled, and would use any excuse to avoid carrying one. Last fall on a trip to Jasper/Banff, Esther finally took her tripod, but only used it twice. It slowed her down in a good way, allowing her to focus more on the composition and to use a slower shutter speed. She’s finally convinced that this year she will use her tripod as much as possible (as well as learn how to use her camera settings in low light).

Next we have Peter Brody from the United States. In this world of stress and tension, Peter’s new beginning is to seek inner peace through meditation and also to continue to help his local community. This image was taken in Bhutan. It is a man meditating at the National Memorial Chorten, Thimphu, Bhutan. It didn’t matter to this gentleman that the door was locked and closed. The lesson from this? Don’t let obstacles stop you from your goals.

Comment: Sara O’Brien – “I like the juxtaposition of the calmness of the man vs. the colorful and patterned door. Well done.”

Then we have Sig Rannem from Canada. When he started his Fresh Start Pet Photography project earlier this month, Brent reminded him that this genre might be challenging. He is indeed finding that out, especially when it comes to dynamic action! So far Sig has made several attempts, but without the kind of success he was looking for. Of course, Pet Photography can be many things, not necessarily a dog leaping through the air to catch a frisbee. So for now, while he continues working on capturing something more dynamic, he is posting a portrait of his dog Tesla.

And last but not the least, this is from Tamar Aharony from the United States. She has only been photographing for a yearand is finding the more she shoots, the more she wants to spend time on it. So she has several photography goals for this coming year but if she had to choose one she thought long exposure would be the biggest one. Tamar has shot long exposure in a workshop several weeks ago and was shocked by the outcome so she has tried to do it on her own. She feels that this image showing where she tried it on her own is not too great but it’s her first attempt. She doesn’t recall if this picture was with the ND filter on not as it shattered while she was here at this spot. She bought a new one and plans to go out again for another try next week. So any advice and feedback would be helpful to her. Tamar’s attempt with the foreground was to provide a leading line and more interest to the photo but she is not sure that she delivered.

Comment: Sig Rannem – “Hi Tamar, Welcome to Bootcamp – great to have you along! I really like the softness of this image brought out by the long exposure and the combination of colours is great as well! Well done!”

Would you want to move on or move forward? Have you always thought about those things you wanted to do but haven’t? Start now. It could be as simple as writing it in the calendar. Take some action to work on whatever it is you choose. If you are not yet a member of this amazing and fun community now is the best time to become a member. You can check out the complete BootCamp Magazine and see for yourself!

Summary

• Consider what a fresh start means to you, to your life, to your photography.
• Letting go of the past isn’t always easy, but it will help ou create a new starting point.
• Create a list of what you want to start, shoot for the stars and remember that no idea is too big or too far out of reach.
• Enlist the help of friends or partners for some accountability to help keep you on track.
• Start now. Do one thing every day to help you move toward your goal. 

Related Articles

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• Going Deep To Create Meaningful Photo’s
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• Lessons Learned In Life And Photography
  What can reflecting on lessons learned do for us?
• Let Your Creativity Brew With Water
  Learn how to capture the wonder of water using diverse photography techniques.

Do This Now

Please leave me a comment below – I’d love to know what you think. Brent