30 000 pictures

The counter on my Canon EOS 40d just reset itself for the third time since i got my beloved camera back in 2008. This means that I’ve take more then 30 000 pictures with it. All this hard work has taken it’s toll. Also, being in my possession is not always easy. You might have read about what I did to my laptop a few weeks ago. My laptop have had it’s struggles, having been brought back to life 4 times by experimental fixes of this sort: “Hey, Peder (my brother)! Which of these parts is the hard drive?”. My camera has simply not been dead enough for this yet, but much to the dismay of my parents, I have never hesitated to take it out in all kinds of weather. After all, I didn’t get an expensive semi-professional camera so it could sit on a shelf and look fancy all day, did I? It has proven relatively “Ankiproof”, but now it is a bit of a senior citizen of cameras and the decay is starting to show in the form of dead pixels, sensor blooming and the likes. Also, the amount of times I’ve dropped it and nearly drowned it may not have helped. With all it’s flaws it’s still a damn good camera, but it’s lifespan might be nearing the end. So what to do? Should I spend more money on a similar camera?

I think it’s time I try something new. I have been on the lookout for perfect shots for years, and it was only recently that I realized I’ve brainwashed myself. You know there is something wrong with you when you can’t enjoy a view if you know it wouldn’t look good on camera. Like an angry little wasp, you feel cheated that the world would dare to taunt you by showing you something you can’t attach to film and put your name on. There is a little demon in the back of my mind that tells me I can make a beautiful scenery my art if I can catch it on camera. This funny way of thinking can only be the works of my ego, which is always lurking in the shadows, pulling string, tying knobs and cutting corners whenever the opportunity comes.

This has been taking the joy out of photograph for me for some time, and last year was my least productive year in a looooong time. Even when I do take a lot of pictures, they tend to stack up to the virtual ceiling of my hard drive, awaiting sorting and adjusting.

For years, I’ve been into surrealism and meanings that are unclear even to myself when I paint or draw. I love when I can just let my mind go, draw a random line, and my brain will immediately apply all kinds of images and meanings to it, in order to understand and categorize it. Later, I almost feel like I can psychoanalyze myself by looking at my drawings and symbols I never consciously put there. I think it’s time to try to apply that to my photography. I might not be better, or ever good at all, but at least I might enjoy it more.

As far as drawing goes, I’ve been into faces and people for some time now. I’ve changed my sketching technique a lot, and this has helped me to draw more. I’m a lot happier with my drawings now, though a lot of them are quite weird. I suppose it reflects the mind behind it :P Here are a few of my drawings:

I have also been doing some more naturalistic portraits of different people. The one below is of snowboarder Markus Malin. The same person I posted a drawing of a few weeks ago. Had to do another one, because the last one was really bugging me. I’ve overdone the contrasts as usual.

 I used permanent markers and ballpoint pen for this one, but I had to remove most of the color because it was a bit too much up close as I used shades of orange and red. I never thought I’d say this, but I actually wish I would have scanned it in 300 dpi instead of 600. Oh well, probably wouldn’t have made a difference. Also, it’s drawn on the cheapest paper you could get, because this paper is actually perfect for my markers and much better then thick, expensive paper.