It’s true that when you don’t use a skill for a while, you easily forget how to use it.
Years ago, I took three photography workshops with Keith Skelton, a super-talented, funny, and accessible instructor. As a new photographer, I learned about framing, lighting, and patience, especially when capturing landscapes and doing street photography. His workshops taught me how to slow down and stay present, allowing me to capture images that felt original and true to my point of view.
I remember spending weeks getting to know my Fujifilm X100, often with the help of old-school blogs like Ken Rockwell’s photography. Those late nights reading and experimenting felt like a learning adventure.
Over time, the skills I had built slowly eroded because I wasn’t using my camera consistently. General life responsibilities and the launch of my consulting business got in the way of self-expression. I no longer had the creativity or discipline to cultivate my photography skills.
These days, when I want to take photos, I rely heavily on my iPhone. We all know smartphones make photography incredibly easy, but sometimes easy doesn’t mean good.
When I tried taking photos of our dogs in front of the Christmas tree the other day, I started with my camera instead of my phone. Because the moment was chaotic, trying to herd three dogs, I couldn’t quickly remember how to change the camera’s manual settings. Adjusting the ISO, shutter speed, and aperture was needed to keep up with the dogs’ movements and the low light. I put it on auto mode and tried to capture the moment. The images came out blurry, and the lighting was too dim.
I asked myself, what was the point of using auto mode on the camera? Why don’t I make it easy and use my phone?
So that’s what I did. And honestly, it was a relief. It was fun, but it wasn’t very rewarding.
Today, I found myself thinking about that experience and how I had let my camera skills slip away. The answer keeps coming back to the same things: being mindful and intentional. I had about an hour of quiet downtime, and during that time I revisited tutorials on adjusting ISO, shutter speed, and aperture.
Taking photos today felt different. They are not perfect, but somehow the experience was satisfying. As I blog here every day this month, it feels right to bring my camera along to experiment and capture the moment.
Slowing down to adjust the camera settings for each take will likely help me appreciate the moment more deeply. In return, I hope to find the skills I lost.
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