Wellbeing First and Photography Second

What is photography worth if we do not do it for our own wellbeing?

In the latest video from English woodland photographer Simon Baxter, he discusses the benefits of woodland photography. Baxter grew up without being attached to iPads and computers, and instead, he played in the forests with his friends. He states that doing woodland photography almost feels like retracing his childhood memories. In the video, he feels compelled to express that the therapeutic benefits of woodland photography that are the fundamentals of his vision and message of his photography.

Woodland photography can be frustrating, especially if you approach it for the wrong reasons. Are you going out because you want to produce great images, or are you enjoying the walk through the forest on its own merits?

Baxter’s approach to woodland photography is one of many I find of use in my own. Go out, scout, and explore a forest. Walk on all the trails, leave the trails, walk around every tree, look up and down, and find the angles that suit a given scene the best. When you have found your vision and composition, return when the conditions are as you like. This approach is time-consuming, but it does reward you with a visionary and precise portfolio. The consumption of time is not important in this regard. The simple action of a walk in a forest is highly beneficial. Take in all the sights, all the sounds, and especially all the smells.

Now that it is autumn and the colors of the forests are changing, it is a great time to go for a walk. The smells of the fungus, the wet branches, moss: let those stimuli guide you and your camera.

Check out the video from Baxter, and let me hear your thoughts down below. Is this an approach you can recognize or something you think is important?