With the new year arriving I wanted to think about things that I want to achieve this year, both work wise and personally so I'm putting my creative wishes for the year out there into the world wide web in the hope that it motivates me to see them materialise!
I have learnt over the years that I am truly happy when working on several creative things at once, be it photography, writing or crafting.
Ever since I can remember I have been obsessed with art and making things. Many happy days and evenings were spent engrossed with a pencil and sketchbook, paintbrush, or embroidery needle, knitting needles and later, a camera.
Promise 1: DRAW OFTEN
For me photography became my medium of choice at aged 16 and other mediums like drawing became hobbies I never seem to have enough time to indulge nearly as much as I'd like to. I was discussing the fact that I used to be a regular and pretty decent drawer back in my school and college days with friends earlier on today and how nowadays I can barely draw a passable stick man. So this is my first promise to myself this year, to get back into drawing for pleasure, maybe I'll even take a class in life drawing!
Promise 2: PHOTOGRAPH WEEKLY
Taking photographs on and off for the past however many years means I'm sometimes left feeling uninspired, or simply not always having the time to take the photographs I truly want to take.
So this year I have several plans to get back on track and taking more photos for personal projects alongside commissioned/magazine documentary based work.
Firstly, I've signed up for the Redeye 52WKS project which I completed my first entry for yesterday. Each week there will be a title of a book which I have to respond to with a photograph or series of photos in relation to that title. You are able to submit pre existing work but where's the challenge in that when the whole point of the project is to spark creativity?!
See my photography website for info on this and my weekly posts of entries in response to each brief.
www.samanthayoungphotography.com
Promise 3: CREATE BODIES OF PHOTOGRAPHIC WORK BASED ON ALL THE CRAZY IDEAS STUCK IN MY HEAD
Secondly, I want to embark on a series of ambitious photo stories/bodies of work based on ideas and things that have been inspiring me for years. These will be theatrical, staged photographs based on my love of fairytales, literature and cinematography with a hint of darkness. I will continue working on my documentary photography and work for publications but I feel there is a whole world bursting to get out of me and its time to set about taking my work to the next level. This may be slow going as the ideas I have are elaborate, heavily styled, with lots of things to make and scenes to devise but I will succeed, slowly but surely!
Promise 4: WRITE MORE
Aside from writing a diary on and off regularly since I was around 7 years old, the only writing I did up until the past two years ago was essay writing which can turn even the most hardened of writers off writing for life! But when I started working for Pretty Nostalgic magazine I soon found I had the ability to write more than essays, and since then have developed a passion and I would like to think a flair for writing which I never knew was in me.
I want to build on this by doing regular daily doses of writing, so tonight I started working through a creative writing book, doing some writing activities to see if I can improve and build on my strengths as a writer.
I have decided to put some of the work I do for this on an entirely separate blog to this one and my photography website.
That should give me plenty to work on for the next 12 months. Somehow I will also need to hold down my day job, my magazine work and organise our 2015 wedding, but I do love to keep busy!
