Stuck in a Rut

I know they say in order to break out of a photography rut you should try to see things with fresh eyes. The only problem is that if feels like it’s impossible. When you see the same thing every single day it's difficult to act like you're seeing it for the first time. Take this picture for example. It sucks. I know it sucks. For some reason I still kind of like it, but objectively speaking I know it sucks.

I took this picture the other day when I went out for a walk because the weather was so nice. I’ve seen the area around Pier 36 and the South Street Seaport my whole life. I remember walking around here with my mom and grandparents when I was a little girl, which was a very long time ago. I’ve seen everything there is to see. If you think about it, this problem (if you can call it that) goes beyond photography and can apply to everything in life. It’s why people, once they turn 18 or once they graduate from college, want to move away from the place where they grew up. At some point you have seen everything there is to see (or so it feels like) and you are just bored out of your mind. You want to see someplace new. You want to experience new things. It’s why so many people are drawn to travel. It doesn’t even have to be international travel. Just traveling to someplace new makes you feel more energetic. You want to go out and explore and see things. Even if you’re normally a homebody, you go out and walk around a bit more when you travel or when you’re in a different place.

I recently went on a short weekend trip to Philadelphia with my mother for her birthday. I love taking pictures of things. Even if they aren’t all bangers, it’s still fun and when I’m somewhere different I always wind up with more keepers than I do when walking around NYC. I know people spend lots of money to visit NYC but from someone who’s lived here (first in Brooklyn and then Manhattan since 2000) it is just a loud, crowded, dirty, noisy hellhole. I know Philadelphia is a big city like Manhattan but it was someplace fairly new. I had been there in the past but this was the first time I spent a few days there and properly explored the city.

I will say that a lot of people think you have to go to another country to find a passion for life, photography, or whatever again and for a while I thought so too. Visiting other countries is fun but eventually you start to miss your own. You want to be around what is familiar and you want to be around your family and friends again. If I did have to pick another country to live in I’d probably be really happy in Italy. I liked the vibes there and I do have a friend so at least I wouldn’t be completely alone.

The United Arab Emirates (I was in Abu Dhabi) was a mixed bag for me. It’s very beautiful and very safe. I never felt unsafe walking around after dark like I do in my own neighborhood (but to be fair, the Lower East Side is a shit hole so it’s not totally unexpected.) The people there weren’t super friendly (they made NYC look like the Midwest in comparison) but I also had a friend in Abu Dhabi so I didn’t really care all that much.

The one thing that drove me bonkers was that it seemed like you couldn’t take pictures of anything. For instance, I saw this really beautiful park (I believe it was called Lake Park) not far from the hotel where I stayed, so I decided to go back there with my camera. I was about to take some pictures when I saw a sign that said no pictures. It’s possible they meant no photoshoots or things like that, but even so, when you take pictures of everything in your everyday life, not being able to take pictures when you’re on vacation is a real pain in the you know what. I did manage to get some pictures while I was there (once I edit them I’ll put them on the website) but I always felt like I was doing something wrong. Night pictures were the best because it felt like you were hidden.

I took a day trip to Al Ain to see a friend and I was complaining about hardly taking pictures. He very nicely pulled off the road more than once to encourage me to take pictures. Al Ain was absolutely gorgeous. I definitely want to go back there one day. It’s very relaxing and peaceful and the mountains and all the different points of interest (such as Al Jahili Fort) are a photographer’s dream. Of course, I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking pictures unless I had my friend with me, but just getting back into taking pictures again would drastically improve my mood. For now, I’ll leave you with one more picture from Philadelphia. This was taken after I walked my mother to Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. I wanted to take a few pictures inside the church but we got there just as mass was starting. I waited for her (for an hour an a half!) at the park in Logan Square. Isn’t this fountain beautiful?

A Peaceful Weekend Out of The City

An Afternoon at the Oculus