Ten years ago, I booked an one-way ticket for Australia, packed my camera, and set without any real plan-an intestine realizes that I wanted to see the world and somehow wanted to make photography my life. I did not go to the film school. I did not know what the license was. And I certainly did not understand how difficult it would be to manufacture a permanent creative career while staying out of the backpack.
Since then, my camera took me to more than 55 countries, 10 of which I called home for a while. I have shot for global brands, have licensed images to airlines, and live everywhere from Sri Lankan beaches to the dramatic beach of South Africa. It is scattered with the nights of sleep, worrying about making fare and was I cut off at all for this life.
Here is a lesson learned on the road with a camera for a decade – which you do not find in YouTube tutorials, but the way you try, fail and find out in a difficult way.
1. Night -overnight success is a myth – and you don’t want it anyway
In today’s world, it is easy to romantic the idea of becoming an overnight success. We see that photographers are blowing on social media, descending brand deals on a large scale after a viral post, or going ambiguous to global campaigns in a few months.
There is nothing wrong in taking a long road. In fact, I think it’s better. Slow burning gives you perspective. It creates flexibility. Low marks make high even better, and at the end of success when they achieve success they keep you on the ground.
I had incredible moments in my career, but they are always balanced with the struggles that were engaged to reach it there. And I am grateful to him. Because if everything goes easy, I will probably not appreciate any of it.
2. The best photos rarely come from the easiest days
Some of my favorite images are from difficult times.
I have hikes the mountains in a cold position to catch the first light in Japan, looted gear through monsoon -soaked forest trails in Sri Lanka, and sit for hours in the middle of the winter night and take a picture of five seconds in Lapland, Sweden. They were not “ideal status”. He was honestly disappointing, tired and sometimes dangerous.
But the shots I got in those moments? He had a story.
The truth is that rarely has an effect. If you are only shooting only when the perfect and conditions of the lighting are comfortable, your portfolio may be polished, but there will probably be a shortage of grit. The grit is one that gives the power of your work.
3. Burnout does not declare itself
One of the most difficult parts of being creative on the road is the task and the blurred line between life. Each trip is a possible shoot. If you are not filming it, every sunset is an opportunity for a lapse. Every moment can feel like material.
Initially, I said yes to do everything – even when the rates were low (or free), the projects were ignoring, or the deadline was unrealistic. I was afraid that there is no point that remembering my shot or progressing my career. But it was really inspired to burnout.
The burnout does not hit like a brick wall. It creeps slowly. Missed an individual project. Left one day. A lot of all-nieters. Before you know this, your love for craft starts to fade.
Now I break. I still shoot personal work when no one pays for it. I remind myself that the rest is not a reward – this is part of the process. If you do not protect your creativity, no one else will do.
4. You don’t need the best gear – you need the gear that fits your life
I used to obsessive on glasses. I will spend hours in research on lenses and sensors, thinking that upgrading my kit will upgrade my career automatically.
Over time, I realized what the most meant my gear was to have a portable and reliable, especially while living on the road.
Switch to a small mirrorless system (I shoot with one Sony A6700 Now) the game changed for me. I could have grown for a long time and could be less concerned about weight or theft. Did I resolve a little? Perhaps. But I got freedom. And freedom helps you to shoot more, find more and remain inspired.
The best camera is what you really bring – the one that does not offend you. What works for your workflow, not only for your wish list.
5. Home is not a failure – this is a new lens
Once a year, I return to the coastal Mississippi’s home and take myself a photo at the same place I could not wait to leave once. But this time, I see them differently.
Sometimes, the most powerful images come from places that we think we know is seen through a new lens. Come home does not mean leaving the dream. This means how far you have come and how much beauty was with everyone.
Ten years ago, I felt that creativity needed a constant speed – which still stood. But I have learned that return, not only traveling, is its kind of creative work. Going back to familiar places and looking at them with new eyes is a proof of development. Now, when I shoot in my hometown, I do not see boredom. I find stories that are as rich as I have occupied abroad.
final thoughts
Ten years with a camera on the road has taught me a lesson that I never learned in class. This taught me patience, perseverance, adaptability and faith in both myself and the process.
If you are starting, do not chase the fast win. Allow your journey to the fore. Let the rejection give you shape. Let you make the hard day better. Success is not something you catch; This is something in which you develop.
And when (if not) it comes, you will feel every step to reach there.
