Always Carry A Camera

apparently photographers are supposed to choose a niche

one subject
one style
one immediately recognisable thing

meanwhile my camera roll contains portraits

lakes
insects
portraits of my favourite people
storms
the streets of vienna
the moon
blurred experiments

and quite a lot of things i cannot explain

learning photography later in life has made me less interested in following every rule correctly

i have already spent enough of my life trying to be consistent

midlife creativity gives me somewhere to change my mind

try something new
make a mess

and photograph whatever the heck makes me look twice

my professional photography has a clear direction

but my personal photography does not need to become a filing system

sometimes curiosity is enough

what would your camera roll say your photography niche is? or isn’t? 🤣

with grateful thanks to who takes the beta photos of me ever taken ♥️

midlife photography keeps teaching me this
a perfect shot is not necessarily a good shot

when i spotted this bee,
i opted for the safe photograph

the bee was sitting on the thistle

sharp enough
clear enough
perfectly respectable

then it lifted off just as i pressed the shutter

and technically, yes

the second photograph is worse

it is blurred
less controlled
less tidy
less easy to defend if someone wants to talk about settings

but to me, it also feels more alive

and honestly, this is one of the things photography over 50 keeps teaching me

always striving for perfection i spent a long time thinking the better photo was the cleaner one

the sharper one
the more correct one
the one that proved i knew what i was doing

if you’re learning photography over 50, the pressure to make every photo technically perfect can be exhausting

and being a midlife photographer myself has made me question whether it’s even true?

because sometimes the imperfect frame is the one with the story in it

sometimes the blur is the moment
sometimes the safe version shows what was there
and the messy version shows what happened

as a midlife photographer, and as someone in the middle of midlife reinvention, i think i am becoming less interested in proving every photograph is technically perfect

i am more interested in whether it makes me feel something

which is also true of starting a photography business over 50
and maybe of any new business

you think you need to look polished before you begin

but sometimes the more interesting work starts when you stop trying to make everything look certain

for me, midlife creativity is not about becoming flawless

it is about noticing more
risking more
and letting the photograph be a little bit alive

even when it is not the one you planned

what do you think?
is the sharp photo always the better photo?

share your opinion in the comments

i’m taking time off

that’s it
no value add in this post unfortunately

just giddy excitement at having a weekend off and to myself and the fantastic

and a heartfelt recommendation to you to do the same

and i haven’t said this for a while but
love y’all 😘

what are you glad you started?

macro photography
a new relationship
a creative and fulfilling hobby
setting up a business
travelling alone

learning something you thought it was too late to learn

or simply doing more of the things that make you feel like yourself again

this month’s friday focus is **i’m glad i started**

photographers from around the world have interpreted that idea through their own lives and their own photography

because starting rarely looks impressive

sometimes it’s picking up a camera again
taking the first bad photo
going on that spontaneous trip
trying something you’re not very good at yet

or deciding that being a beginner is better than wondering what might have happened if you hadn’t started

rediscovering photography in midlife taught me something i wish i’d understood much earlier

you don’t need to know where something will lead before you’re allowed to begin

sometimes you just have to start

if you’re rediscovering photography, starting photography later in life or looking for a reason to get creative again, you’re welcome here

want to join the next monthly photo challenge?

dm me **friday focus** and i’ll send you the details
——-
friday focus collab is a photography project that unites a global community of passionate amateur photographers exploring shared photo challenges, which we post in a carousel once a month

our collaboration celebrates how uniquely we each view the world through our lenses (and all cameras are welcome!)

at its heart, Friday Focus is about inspiration, creativity, community, and experimenting in a safe space

whether you’re a photography newcomer or looking to expand your skills, we’re all about growing together and discovering fresh perspectives through your viewfinders

join us!

DM Jo | building a photography business in midlife to share your own shots, discover inspiring photographers to follow, and become part of the conversation by commenting on each challenge

content creation is a strange thing

because even when you love it

even when it is part of the life you chose

even when it is helping you build the thing you once only dreamed about

it can still start to turn everything into a job

a photo becomes a post idea
a walk becomes possible b-roll
a thought becomes a hook
a quiet moment becomes something you should probably document before it disappears

and honestly

i do love this work

i love building a creative life after 50
i love sharing the messy middle of midlife reinvention
i love finding people who understand why a camera can become such a big part of your life again

but i also miss the soothing bit sometimes

the private bit

the part where i take a photo simply because i love what i saw

not because it proves anything
not because it fits the grid
not because it has a content job to do

just because it made me stop

so this is that

some photos i took recently and love

nothing to teach
nothing to sell
no clever little framework

just the part of photography that makes me feel like myself again

midlife reinvention sounds very inspiring until you realise it still involves emails

and invoices
and self doubt
and learning curves
and wondering whether you are brave or just having a prolonged episode 🫣

some days building a creative life after 50 feels exciting

some days it feels like dragging yourself through treacle with a camera bag

but even on the exhausting days

i would rather be here

trying
learning
building
not quite knowing what i am doing

than pretending i am fine inside a life that no longer fits

if that last comment resonates with you too, drop me a follow ♥️

i’m not really a landscape photographer

at least i don’t think i am

i don’t usually go looking for the grand view
the perfect viewpoint
the dramatic mountain moment
the photograph that says look where i went

i’m much more interested in the thing that made me stop for reasons i can’t fully explain

a bit of light
a strange colour
weather doing something moody
a small human detail in a big place
the ordinary edge of somewhere beautiful

maybe that still counts

or maybe photography over 50 is just becoming less interested in proving what kind of photographer i am

and more interested in noticing what keeps asking to be photographed

content notice: su***de prevention

today is world su***de prevention day

which gets me thinking about the version of me who almost didn’t get to be here

i’m not going to wrap that in a neat little bow

because it wasn’t neat
and it wasn’t poetic
and it wasn’t solved by one sunrise or one camera or one brave decision

but i am here now

older
softer in some places
angrier in others
still occasionally a complete mess
still carrying a camera
still noticing light on ordinary things

and i am very very glad i stayed

if you are in the part of the story where staying feels impossible

please tell someone

not because everything magically becomes easy

but because you deserve the chance to find out what else your life can become

sometimes i do wonder what exactly a british photographer is doing in austria

apart from mispronouncing things
collecting paperwork
being overconfident about understanding dialect
and carrying a camera everywhere like it explains my entire personality

but somewhere along the way this became home

not in a neat cinematic way

more in a lived-in way

familiar streets
strange light
mountains that still make me shut up for a second
ordinary corners i’ve photographed more times than necessary
and a creative life i did not start building until after 50

so maybe that’s the answer

i’m here noticing things

badly pronouncing them occasionally

and photographing the life i somehow ended up inside
and which i wouldn’t change for the world 🇦🇹

quite a few new people have arrived in our midlife corner of instagram this week

which is utterly lovely & totally exhilarating ♥️
y’all are super welcome

➡️ reintroduction time then

we’re joanna & roland
partners in life, work and the belief that just one more camera lens will make our lives utterly perfect 🙃

we’re gen x photographers & the people behind Ugly Duckling Agency | Brand Photography Content | Austria, a new multimedia agency in vienna austria 🇦🇹

always carry a camera (here) is where we share the less polished reality of midlife reinvention & photography over 50

learning
making things
building a creative business
getting things wrong
& creating a second act that feels more like us

we don’t have a tidy before and after story
we’re right in the middle of it

if you’re building a second act of your own
we’re excited to know what 🥳🥳🥳

drop us single word & let’s see what you’re all at ⤵️