2026 02 03: My B/W Era, an Update

The motivating force for making this post was that I’m currently in a bit of a black/white phase, as a contemplated back then (point one). It’s been fun and I like how it’s training me to visualize scenes in a different way than I would normally. Perhaps I’ll make a zine of the work down the road… but really, it has me seeing more potential for more thought-out and focused black/white projects.

Traveling (point two) remains my favorite thing to do when time allows. Having just returned from a job down in Louisville, I was able to put one day into my abstract Illinois Wandering project (point three), which led to a few decent images and even more grand ideas. I haven’t yet been able to figure out how to make this practice make money, though perhaps in time the images that are made from the trips will pay off in various ways. Photography as a job is always an abstract journey! While previously the commercial jobs were paying the bills, lately they have been few and far between (point four). It’s stressful financially but has allowed me to explore my own artistic impulses, which is rewarding in other ways.

While you might think the lack of jobs has allowed me huge amounts of free time, the exact opposite has been true, as I’m forced to fill in the gaps with other money-making endeavors (really, it’s mostly me scrambling to make enough money to cover my studio rent each month, which is a significant use of my time). Pivoting my career towards video (point five) and/or becoming a “Creative Agency” has been a serious consideration, but one that I’ve resisted and made a point to avoid if at all possible.

My longer term outlook on the creative field has me continually looking towards art instead of commerce, which likely goes against most peoples’ logic. I see too many headwinds to continue solely down the path of commercial photography without going crazy in the near future. I’d rather scrape by doing things I much rather enjoy.