Why I'm Thankful For My Old Photos

I have three photos framed and sitting on the shelves in my room. They are three photos that I entered in a contest several years ago as I was just starting out in photography. Two of them are still to this day some of my favorite pictures. The lightning isn't perfect or anything, but they have layering and good composition, before I even knew what those were. The third one is interesting. I'll show you.

It's not bad, but now that I know so much more, I can look at this photo and see all kinds of things I could do better. Honestly, I'm kind of astonished at how well I did with composition when I didn't even know it was important or anything about it. It's probably part accidental and maybe I just have an eye that likes what is traditionally good composition. I don't know.

I won't go into all that this photo does right and wrong. You probably don't care. But this photo is just one example of old photos that I have that I'm so thankful for. For one thing, I can look back on them and see how far I've come. I know that I'll do that for what I'm taking now as well. I think they are amazing but I'll continue to grow and learn and one day I'll go back to them and see things I could have done better or differently.

For another, I can use these photos to reinforce what I've learned and teach other people. I can show them, "here is what I did and why it was not the best thing to do". I know I've learned things well when I can look at photos and say "this is what's right and this is what's wrong with that photo".

A younger me would have been horrified by these old photos. And I won't be showcasing them for a reason. But I've learned the value of them and they represent a time in my life and my photography journey. That means something.