Tired of Chasing Perfection

Tired of Perfection by David duChemin (David duChemin - World & Humanitarian Photographer, Nomad, Author.)

This is a little bit all over the place, and it’s raw. But that’s the point of this whole thing. I could do with a little more raw right now. I’m tired of perfection.

I want each image I create to have an emotional impact.

Tired of Perfection by David duChemin (David duChemin - World & Humanitarian Photographer, Nomad, Author.)

This is a little bit all over the place, and it’s raw. But that’s the point of this whole thing. I could do with a little more raw right now. I’m tired of perfection.

[exif id="33986"]

Perhaps it’s time to sit and reflect on why I picked up the camera so many years ago in college. Or why I stopped and then started again later in life.

In search of this perfection, we’re losing the poetic. The grit. The nuance. I see fewer and less story. Less humanity. I’m all in on beauty, but that’s not even what I’m seeing. It’s all just so damn saccharine. My god, all the shiny, happy – perfect – people. It must be exhausting trying to be all that all the time.

I worry that the desire for perfection is killing the spontaneity and the life in our photographs, never mind the honesty in them. ~ David duChemin.

I went searching through the Lightroom catalogue and found these two images from 2001. They were taken on my first digital camera—a Sony DSC-S70. I didn't know much about light and composition and framing etc. But I look at these two images, and they hold more emotional impact for me than any recent image I’ve captured. The quality of the image isn't what draws me in. It's not the contrast or the sharpness of the focus. What makes this photo precious to me is the feelings that come up each time I view them.

I want to reconnect with that feeling. I want each image I create to have an emotional impact.

To me!

child on train platform
Shaan. Waiting for the New Hope-Ivyland Train. New Hope, Pennsylvania | Tuesday 2 October, 2001 | Sony CYBERSHOT | 21 mm | 1470 sec at f/4.8 | ISO 100

Maybe chasing perfection isn't the perfect thing to do.

We want connection. We want hope. We won't wonder. We want to look at something and feel something deeper than whatever it is that moves my finger to click the Like button. ~ David duChemin

Montgomery Township, New Jersey, United States of America

Author: Khürt Williams

A human who works in information security and enjoys photography, Formula 1 and craft ale. #nobridge

2 thoughts on “Tired of Chasing Perfection”

  1. Pingback: Khürt Williams

Comments are closed.