The dangers of comparing yourself and/or your images.

As a photographer, it is common to look at other peoples images, quite often with envious eyes. We wish we had been in that situation and had been able to capture that image. We wish we were that creative, had that vision and were able to produce those results.

Often these comparisons can inspire us, give us ideas or drive to improve, however, very often the comparison can have the opposite effect and make us feel we will never be good enough to produce such images.

We forget we are all on a journey, and even the best photographers have had to learn and have had to put in the time to perfect their craft.

Those who are producing those stunning and enviable wildlife photos have done their research, have spent hours observing the subjects and will have 1000s of rejected photos.

I think the only person we can compare ourselves with is ourselves. Look at our journey, look how far we have come.

I look at the images below, which I entered into our club competition in my first year, my progress in 4 years has been astonishing. I am not where I want to be but I am making progress.

This week I managed to get my first otter shots. Not as good as many I have seen but mine. They are my starting point from which I will hopefully progress (if I can get up early to see them once in a while).

So for those of you out there thinking you are not good enough to celebrate your photography, start your journey, get sharing your images otherwise you will never have something to look back on to see how far you have come.

Images taken in 2022 when I first started with Melton Mowbray Photographic Society