Direction, also known as where do I go from here

I started this blog some time ago as a means to make myself work to become a better photographer. Judging from the timespan between posts it is obvious it didn't work as well as I had planned. Why is that? I think it is fair to say I enjoy creating images since I have gone to great lengths in order to improve my craftsmanship. Yes when it comes down to it, I always find something else to focus my efforts on. Even if I can work on photography it is rarely the same thing. One week it is my NYIP classes (which I owe a ton of money to), the next I am reading on how to better use Lightroom. This week I am making Macro photos of water. In some cases the 'Jack-of-all-Trades' approcah would work well. Right now I feel lost and overwhelmed with no idea where to start. Perhaps if I air out the pros and cons here I can shed a little light on whhere to turn.

NYIP: I signed up for the course in order to improve my overall quality of photography. What better way to become a better photographer than to have an industry leader teach you the fundamentals, how to apply them and when. The price is steep but I believe it will be well worth it in the end. I cannot honestly answer why I do not sit down and work on the assignments. I read all of chapter one, took the online exam, watched the DVD for unit one, and even took my first picture for submission to NYIP. I have two more images I must capture to complete unit one, yet I just have not made the time to capture them. I guess I am afraid of what will be said in response of my submission. It is simply time to push thru and take my constructive criticism.

Lightroom Training: I love Lightroom, or at least the idea of what Lightroom can do. I watch tutorials on before and after touch ups and the simple tweaks are amazing. I have access to a Lightroom training book which again teaches the fundamentals of using Lightroom and how to apply them. I have several issues with proceeding with this form of training. First of all, what good does photomanipulation do if it is simply a bad photo. So honestly I should learn to take better pictures BEFORE I edit them. Lastly, I have thousands of pictures I have taken from around the world. I could spend months simply editing them and organizing them. It is a daunting task and I am afraid to even start this massive undertaking.

Practice: I stumbled across a macro image of a water drop and instantly became inspired to pull out my camera. It was the first time in a very long time I even turned on my camera. I had a great time shooting these images, but I didn't capture perfect images. The time I spent shooting these images could have been better spent completing unit one and proceeding to unit two. However, it was fun. Isn't that what this should be about? Is it still a hobby if you do not enjoy the time you spend working on it?

Yes, this has been a bizarre post. Blogs are not supposed to be amazing insights into the future. It is simply a way for me to organize my thoughts and hold myself accountable for it. I know what I need to do, and this puts it in my face and hopefully gives me the drive to do it.

Thanks for reading.

Joe