The Imperfect Journey
It’s Christmas Day, and as 2025 comes to an end, it’s the perfect time to look back on your year of journeys, the memories you created and the photographs you made. I hope that your year was one of discovery, not only of new locations but of yourself.
As my ideas and plans for travel in 2026 are now at the forefront, I look back at what still seems fresh. Seville, Malaga, Paris, Dubrovnik, and Zagreb. A great year of travel. As photographers, we pour our hearts into every image we create. And each photo reflects our vision, emotion, and effort. Naturally, we want to share that work with others, inviting them into our world and helping them feel the same wonder and connection we did when capturing the moment. Through our photography, we hope others can see the stories behind the images, share in our joy, and find their own appreciation for the art we create.
Yet the journey of a photographer is never satisfied. Each image we make inspires a desire to reach further, to refine our craft, and to create something even more meaningful. The drive to grow, to improve, and to find fulfillment in what we do is what keeps us moving forward. But part of being a photographer is also understanding that the journey may never truly end. There will always be another achievement to chase, another story to tell, another photograph waiting to be made. And perhaps that continuous pursuit is what defines us most.
I used to get stuck on the pursuit of perfection. Staring at images for hours, wondering what I should have done, how I should have composed, and what I could “fix” to make it closer to what I wanted, but I realized how much that was holding me back. I was trying to perfect something that could never be. It lacked the emotion behind it, and it didn’t hold the memory I had hoped for. I was wasting time thinking about what could have been instead of experimenting more, going beyond what I felt was comfortable, and trying new things with my photography. I was spending all my time endlessly looking at images on a monitor, thinking that it would click; that what I felt was missing would somehow become an ephiphany. It rarely happened. I learned more about what was lacking, but if you stare at anything long enough, you’ll find flaws in it.
As I continue my photography journey, I realize that nothing can be perfect. Some will be good, some will be bad, some will hold emotion, and some won’t. However, every photograph is part of the path to achieving that sense of progress and fulfillment. It’s probably good that we can rarely, if ever, perceive our own photography as perfect. Perfection is a plateau, a place where nothing can be improved upon. Perfection eliminates the need for growth and experimentation; trying new things, however, allows us to see what was missing, what interests us, and what sparks our curiosity. Curiosity allows us to break free from the intended path, to go places we’ve never been, meet people we never would have met, and to experience a life that endlessly carries a sense of adventure and journey.
As we round the corner into the new year, I wish you fulfillment and happiness. Create photographs, experience as much as you can, and cherish every beautiful memory yet created.