December 2016 – Wouter Brandsma

I don’t try to make a habit of looking back to what I have done. It is the end of the year and many will come up with their best …. of 2016. Yeah, 2016 was such a productive year. I did so many things. Crazy things, awesome things. Tried so many new things, failed sometimes, learned so many things. Things to keep doing, things not worth repeating. Just check my selection.

I’m goofing here, but you’ll likely recognize these posts. Instead I’m making an effort to look further in my past. I’m taking you back to the years 2011 and 2012. I started my first photo a day project that lasted 72 weeks. I know that some will tell you that taking less photographs might in fact help you get more inspired and motivated in photography. Others will tell you the opposite. I guess they mean it right, but honestly all they want is to read their blog posts. I for god sake don’t even know why I started. I guess, because I can. And I just did so. No expectations, no intentions, but I did go deep. It was to become an emotional roller coaster.

The beginning felt easy, but the second month was difficult. The following months my back started playing games with me. I photographed tons of barbed wires, I photographed many shadows. I mean, I’ve seen shadows. It felt shadowy. I kept photographing though. Seven days a week. I went past 365 days. That felt like a gimmick, it was a part of me. So I continued. I don’t know how many photographs I took. I don’t even care.

It drained everything out of me, but when I ended it after 72 weeks it felt like it needed to be ended. When I look back, it all felt like a big experimentation. Despite the 504 selected daily photographs I don’t think I produced anything really good and consistent. I tried too many cameras. Experimented with forms, color, post processing, but really had no glue what I was doing. Maybe therefore my last photo a day project felt so differently.

I don’t care what others say about a photo a day project, but I don’t regret doing it. Twice, in fact. The first project helped me to start all over again. Learn from the mistakes I made and the failures, many, I produced. From the 504 finally selected photographs I think only three made it really worthwhile to me (these are the once in this blog post). In the end, that and the experience I gained is what I take with me into the next year.

There are so many things I don’t care about anymore. I don’t give a damn about gear, I try to spent a minimum amount of time editing and post processing. I try to care about small things, non photography related. We complain that there are too many photographs posted on online sharing platforms and yet all we care for are camera reviews. Nowadays I only get 1/5 of the traffic on my blog that I got in 2011. Even this year the best read blog posts are camera impressions I posted in the past. That is photography. Only a small group really cares about photography. So think about the reason why you started to photograph. Bring the honesty back into photography.

I have no intention to turn my blog into a traffic cow again. I only use it for sharing my views, my photography. I try to keep things simple and brace myself for what 2017 will bring to us. All the best for the next year. Peace!

All photographs by Wouter Brandsma

At the end of the years websites and blogs will be filled with 2016 lists. For me 2016 was a mixed bag. I changed job, my son spent months in a rehabilitation hospital, my daughter went to high school. My wife struggled with her health. Her mother tried to beat her cancer. Somewhere in between I tried to keep photographing. Thankfully I feel surrounded by beautiful and warm people.

Politically it was, well meh. The States elected a new POTUS, good luck with that. We’ve seen horrifying scenes in Syria, terror attacks in Europe and the Middle East. 2017 might be even worse with elections throughout Europe, including my homecountry the Netherlands. I hold my breath and can only think of the wise words by human rights activist Iyad el-Baghdadi: “Remember and believe that hate cannot melt hate, only reinforce it. Only love can melt hate. Make it a cornerstone of your belief.”

Blessed Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.