Mr Doubt and Mrs Perfectionist - what a pair. They do seem to get about quite a bit, too, don't they? I've met them a time or two and they can be decided off-putting. Well, let's hope they keep their distance this coming year. The same can be said for those dreaded developers. Fingers crossed you succeed in your endeavours to keep them out of your patch. Thank you for sharing with us all your wonderful photographs this last year and, of course, the camaraderie - it's been a delight. Yule blessings to you, too! 🙏💚
PS I like the thread running through your image selection above of the sun peeps round the trees, like a gesture of the light's return ☺️
Aww, thank you, you're so kind Ralph - I felt that these images were just what was needed to remind me of the return of the light and I'm so pleased you picked up on that!
I've really enjoy sharing my work with you and seeing your wonderful photography this year, as well as your photography 'experiments', I always look forward to reading your posts! I'm so please we connected on here. And I've had strong words with Mr Doubt and Mrs Perfectionist so I'm hoping they'll not be putting in many appearances in 2026!
As for those dreaded developers...they didn't know what they were taking on when they decided to try and destroy the wildlife haven here - they're learning that they should never argue with women of a certain age!!😠🤣
Wishing you a blessed Yule, a lovely festive break and a happy, healthy new year filled with much creativity and plenty of opportunities for you to experiment some more...even if that means even more forays onto e-bay!!😉😊
I loved your perspectives on the creative process. Your journey this year put me in mind of one of my writing teachers in college (I'm in the way back machine with that reference LOL). I had won an award for a short story, but kept talking about how it could have been better. My much wiser teacher said, I need to add the phrase 'or not' to my creative plans and work. So now, I tell myself I will definitely get my query letter and synopsis out by Friday, or not. And those two little words snap me out of perfectionism and allow me to breathe into what my creativity is asking of me in the present. Thank you for bringing that piece of wisdom I learned so long ago back to the forefront of my consciousness. Your photography is luminous. Thank you for sharing it with all of us.
Thank you for sharing that story Cathleen - your writing teacher was very wise, I love the idea of adding 'or not' when I'm making plans, it makes goals seem far less daunting! And thank you for your kind comment on my photography - I hope that it has shone a little more light on your day.😊 Wishing you a wonderful festive break.
Thank you so much for your beautiful words, Stephanie. To think that my photographs might carry someone into the forest, even for a moment, is such a wonderful thought. And the way you describe the act of gathering images as sacred reminds me why I turn to photography…for those sacred, mindful moments of connection with my subject that allow creativity to unfold.
Wishing you and your family a festive season filled with light and those sacred moments of creativity that bring so much peace and joy.
I like your post. I like your photos even more! They look like at least one project well on its way. I am well acquainted with things not going as planned. 😉. One of these days I’ll set up a proper Substack. 😇. Who knows what might happen.
Thanks Anna - I'm pleased it resonated. Things always have a have a habit of falling into place eventually, so when the time is right I'm sure that Substack publication will come.😊
Hello Lin, I hope you're having a good break. I am very behind with my reading but definitely notice your absence! It's not the same :). Not to induce pressure or to provoke Mrs. Perfectionist! Just to say your work and your methods are so inspiring and I look forward to seeing more in 2026 with your own renewal in traction.... "So many of our creative blocks aren’t caused by a lack of ideas, but by the pressure we put on ourselves to get it right, to make the perfect choice, to honour that invisible standard we set ourselves." - I couldn't have said this better. Thanks!
Thanks so much Juliette for your lovely words, that's really kind of you. I've enjoyed the break and put Mrs Perfectionist in a box where hopefully she'll struggle to raise her head!😊
I'm so pleased this resonated with you - I know that you suffer the same way, I think many of us here do but you know, it's great to have the encouragement and support of this amazing Substack photo community to help put those gremlins to bed once and for all!
Thanks so much for sharing your deep insights, which sound quite familiar— especially the one about overthinking being a thief of creative joy and flow. May you ease into the new year feeling a bit lighter for the learning. And may you be successful in protecting the land near your home! Sending light and warmth. ✨✨✨
Thanks so much Anne - I think having that awareness of overthinking is where the battle can be won.
The fight for the land has been fierce and draining... now we play a waiting game but hopefully it will come to a close very soon. At least I know we've done as much as we can to stop it, now it's in the hands of local authorities.
This is beautiful. This line you offered resonates, "It’s been a gentle reminder that when life becomes full of busy-ness, I need to make more room for quiet and stillness." You need more boundary setting or, at the least, the opportunity to ask if I say yes to this other thing, will it interrupt what I hope to accomplish and, if so, what is more important? I think we could all use a lesson in boundary setting. For sure, I love that you are abandoning setting expectations for the year - the best way to be is let the way show you the way to go. Yes, you can do this and still accomplish what you want to by re-membering your boundaries.
Gorgeous photos. Don't second guess your thoughts to add color. Sometimes the shock of a color photo among the B&W ones is just the thing that is needed!!
Have a wonderful, restful season. Sending love, XO
Thanks so much Danielle and yes, I like that..."let the way show you the way to go" . I hope that you to had a restful Yule for me it's the natural time to go within and just be with whatever comes up.
Thanks so much Veronika - for your words and for your wishes, days amongst trees are my healing balm. I hope that your 2026 proves to be fruitful creatively for you.
Evocative winter images! - Winter sunlight can illuminate so beautifully.
Every photograph is a gamble which may or may not work out, but apart from a little time and energy there is really nothing much to loose - the stake is so much smaller than a painter or sketcher commits.
I used to count myself as a perfectionist, then realised perfection is less than a mirage: how can you recognise perfection, what criterion do you judge it by? Without any criterion to recognise it by perfection is literally unknowable. - If an image feels right then I go for it. If later it still feels good that's great, if not then I've still learnt something, however small.
I was out with my camera kit today in wintery sunlight. Saw and photographed some beautiful scenes. I'll download them tomorrow, I'm hoping for something worth hanging on to, but it was a great day whatever.
Thank you Jon. What you say about perfection is so true, it's really a case of recognising when that little gremlin is sitting on our shoulders and then ignoring them and go with what you feel! I hope your trip out into the wintery sunlight has proved fruitful.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Lin. So much I can relate too, especially your end points. The ups and downs in the creative process are certainly a challenge. I hope you have a great Christmas and a very happy and creative New Year. I will be looking forward to seeing more.
Thanks so much Matt - they are a challenge but you know, it's so reassuring because after all we are only human and it's part of the whole creative process. Thanks for supporting me this year - it's much appreciated. Have a wonderful festive season and a happy, healthy and of course creative 2026!
What a beautiful selection of images, Lin. You should be super proud of these. I love your openness about the creative process. Overthinking is such a trait amongst us, and I know that I've done it many of times. For me, it's so important getting out and just enjoying the moment with our craft. Lean in to what our inner self tells us to photograph and breathe. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and I look forward to seeing more of your work in the coming year.
Thank you so much Daniel. I'm in total agreement, I do my best to have a mindful approach to the subject I'm photographing and similarly follow my intuition when putting a project together, but those little gremlins do like to jump in now and again! It's all part of a creative life!😂
Solstice blessings and I hope you have a wonderful festive season - may the New Year be filled with creative inspiration for us all!
I love how you reflected on the past year, the goals you‘ve set for yourself and what you have learned from it all. Setting goals isn‘t necessarily a bad thing or something we should avoid doing. The right mindset on how to deal with them is important in my eyes. And you sound like you learned from it regardless of reaching them.
I am wishing you happy holidays and a good time - hopefully with your camera and somewhere in nature.
Thanks Susanne - you're so right there, I think I just got over-enthusiastic and made some slightly ambitious goals without thinking it through. I'm definitely going to take a more relaxed view if I decide to set myself any for 2026 but for the time being I'm looking forward to just enjoying this quiet time of year and yes...definitely get back out in nature and enjoying all that winter has to offer.
I've got to add this - I went for a walk yesterday and not only were the heliotropes in full flower so were a group of daffodils!! Not what I'd expect to see before Christmas!
Have a lovely break over this festive season - I hope it's filled with much joy and brings you inspiration for the new year. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your amazing creative projects in 2026.😊
Thanks so much Andy...and yes, the positive is that we can uncover new ideas when life, and those gremlins looking over our shoulders, try to trip us up! I'm sorry to hear your plans were scuppered too - hopefully with a positive outcome.
Have a lovely festive season and a new year filled with wonderful creative adventures!
Mr Doubt and Mrs Perfectionist - what a pair. They do seem to get about quite a bit, too, don't they? I've met them a time or two and they can be decided off-putting. Well, let's hope they keep their distance this coming year. The same can be said for those dreaded developers. Fingers crossed you succeed in your endeavours to keep them out of your patch. Thank you for sharing with us all your wonderful photographs this last year and, of course, the camaraderie - it's been a delight. Yule blessings to you, too! 🙏💚
PS I like the thread running through your image selection above of the sun peeps round the trees, like a gesture of the light's return ☺️
Aww, thank you, you're so kind Ralph - I felt that these images were just what was needed to remind me of the return of the light and I'm so pleased you picked up on that!
I've really enjoy sharing my work with you and seeing your wonderful photography this year, as well as your photography 'experiments', I always look forward to reading your posts! I'm so please we connected on here. And I've had strong words with Mr Doubt and Mrs Perfectionist so I'm hoping they'll not be putting in many appearances in 2026!
As for those dreaded developers...they didn't know what they were taking on when they decided to try and destroy the wildlife haven here - they're learning that they should never argue with women of a certain age!!😠🤣
Wishing you a blessed Yule, a lovely festive break and a happy, healthy new year filled with much creativity and plenty of opportunities for you to experiment some more...even if that means even more forays onto e-bay!!😉😊
Ah, yes, the 'Bay... I'm trying to behave myself, there! 😇😎😅. Thank you for your kind words💚🙏
Haha - we'll see how long that good behaviour lasts!🤣
Lol, you know me so well, already! 😂
🤣🤣🤣
I loved your perspectives on the creative process. Your journey this year put me in mind of one of my writing teachers in college (I'm in the way back machine with that reference LOL). I had won an award for a short story, but kept talking about how it could have been better. My much wiser teacher said, I need to add the phrase 'or not' to my creative plans and work. So now, I tell myself I will definitely get my query letter and synopsis out by Friday, or not. And those two little words snap me out of perfectionism and allow me to breathe into what my creativity is asking of me in the present. Thank you for bringing that piece of wisdom I learned so long ago back to the forefront of my consciousness. Your photography is luminous. Thank you for sharing it with all of us.
Thank you for sharing that story Cathleen - your writing teacher was very wise, I love the idea of adding 'or not' when I'm making plans, it makes goals seem far less daunting! And thank you for your kind comment on my photography - I hope that it has shone a little more light on your day.😊 Wishing you a wonderful festive break.
Lin,
may your holiday season be filled with the dappled trails of shadow and light
may your heart know the texture of doubt and confidence, along with the sacred act of gathering images that light up the imagination.
your photographs create a longing to be there
to touch those trees,
to walk those paths,
to lose one' self in the deepest part of the forest.
as you continue to make wonder
with a lens
may you remember
the hearts you move
to deeper reflection
those who stand at the edge of your photographs
and lose themselves there
in a moment of peace, awe or inspiration.
Thank you so much for your beautiful words, Stephanie. To think that my photographs might carry someone into the forest, even for a moment, is such a wonderful thought. And the way you describe the act of gathering images as sacred reminds me why I turn to photography…for those sacred, mindful moments of connection with my subject that allow creativity to unfold.
Wishing you and your family a festive season filled with light and those sacred moments of creativity that bring so much peace and joy.
I like your post. I like your photos even more! They look like at least one project well on its way. I am well acquainted with things not going as planned. 😉. One of these days I’ll set up a proper Substack. 😇. Who knows what might happen.
Thanks Anna - I'm pleased it resonated. Things always have a have a habit of falling into place eventually, so when the time is right I'm sure that Substack publication will come.😊
Hello Lin, I hope you're having a good break. I am very behind with my reading but definitely notice your absence! It's not the same :). Not to induce pressure or to provoke Mrs. Perfectionist! Just to say your work and your methods are so inspiring and I look forward to seeing more in 2026 with your own renewal in traction.... "So many of our creative blocks aren’t caused by a lack of ideas, but by the pressure we put on ourselves to get it right, to make the perfect choice, to honour that invisible standard we set ourselves." - I couldn't have said this better. Thanks!
Thanks so much Juliette for your lovely words, that's really kind of you. I've enjoyed the break and put Mrs Perfectionist in a box where hopefully she'll struggle to raise her head!😊
I'm so pleased this resonated with you - I know that you suffer the same way, I think many of us here do but you know, it's great to have the encouragement and support of this amazing Substack photo community to help put those gremlins to bed once and for all!
Indeed it is. Welcome back! Looking forward this weekend to catching up fully with all things here.
Thanks so much for sharing your deep insights, which sound quite familiar— especially the one about overthinking being a thief of creative joy and flow. May you ease into the new year feeling a bit lighter for the learning. And may you be successful in protecting the land near your home! Sending light and warmth. ✨✨✨
Thanks so much Anne - I think having that awareness of overthinking is where the battle can be won.
The fight for the land has been fierce and draining... now we play a waiting game but hopefully it will come to a close very soon. At least I know we've done as much as we can to stop it, now it's in the hands of local authorities.
Lin,
This is beautiful. This line you offered resonates, "It’s been a gentle reminder that when life becomes full of busy-ness, I need to make more room for quiet and stillness." You need more boundary setting or, at the least, the opportunity to ask if I say yes to this other thing, will it interrupt what I hope to accomplish and, if so, what is more important? I think we could all use a lesson in boundary setting. For sure, I love that you are abandoning setting expectations for the year - the best way to be is let the way show you the way to go. Yes, you can do this and still accomplish what you want to by re-membering your boundaries.
Gorgeous photos. Don't second guess your thoughts to add color. Sometimes the shock of a color photo among the B&W ones is just the thing that is needed!!
Have a wonderful, restful season. Sending love, XO
Thanks so much Danielle and yes, I like that..."let the way show you the way to go" . I hope that you to had a restful Yule for me it's the natural time to go within and just be with whatever comes up.
Wonderful photos Lin, and thank you for sharing your creative process.
"It’s amazing how quickly the act of overthinking can drain the life from a project."
THIS and all the other spanners that can get so easily into our creative works... you identify them well.
With warm wishes for a creative pause and a thriving year of tracking dappled light filtered through the branches of treasured trees.
Thanks so much Veronika - for your words and for your wishes, days amongst trees are my healing balm. I hope that your 2026 proves to be fruitful creatively for you.
Evocative winter images! - Winter sunlight can illuminate so beautifully.
Every photograph is a gamble which may or may not work out, but apart from a little time and energy there is really nothing much to loose - the stake is so much smaller than a painter or sketcher commits.
I used to count myself as a perfectionist, then realised perfection is less than a mirage: how can you recognise perfection, what criterion do you judge it by? Without any criterion to recognise it by perfection is literally unknowable. - If an image feels right then I go for it. If later it still feels good that's great, if not then I've still learnt something, however small.
I was out with my camera kit today in wintery sunlight. Saw and photographed some beautiful scenes. I'll download them tomorrow, I'm hoping for something worth hanging on to, but it was a great day whatever.
Thank you Jon. What you say about perfection is so true, it's really a case of recognising when that little gremlin is sitting on our shoulders and then ignoring them and go with what you feel! I hope your trip out into the wintery sunlight has proved fruitful.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Lin. So much I can relate too, especially your end points. The ups and downs in the creative process are certainly a challenge. I hope you have a great Christmas and a very happy and creative New Year. I will be looking forward to seeing more.
Thanks so much Matt - they are a challenge but you know, it's so reassuring because after all we are only human and it's part of the whole creative process. Thanks for supporting me this year - it's much appreciated. Have a wonderful festive season and a happy, healthy and of course creative 2026!
Have a splendid Yule Time. The light is coming!
Thank you - blessed Solstice to you too!
What a beautiful selection of images, Lin. You should be super proud of these. I love your openness about the creative process. Overthinking is such a trait amongst us, and I know that I've done it many of times. For me, it's so important getting out and just enjoying the moment with our craft. Lean in to what our inner self tells us to photograph and breathe. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and I look forward to seeing more of your work in the coming year.
Thank you so much Daniel. I'm in total agreement, I do my best to have a mindful approach to the subject I'm photographing and similarly follow my intuition when putting a project together, but those little gremlins do like to jump in now and again! It's all part of a creative life!😂
Solstice blessings and I hope you have a wonderful festive season - may the New Year be filled with creative inspiration for us all!
I love how you reflected on the past year, the goals you‘ve set for yourself and what you have learned from it all. Setting goals isn‘t necessarily a bad thing or something we should avoid doing. The right mindset on how to deal with them is important in my eyes. And you sound like you learned from it regardless of reaching them.
I am wishing you happy holidays and a good time - hopefully with your camera and somewhere in nature.
Thanks Susanne - you're so right there, I think I just got over-enthusiastic and made some slightly ambitious goals without thinking it through. I'm definitely going to take a more relaxed view if I decide to set myself any for 2026 but for the time being I'm looking forward to just enjoying this quiet time of year and yes...definitely get back out in nature and enjoying all that winter has to offer.
I've got to add this - I went for a walk yesterday and not only were the heliotropes in full flower so were a group of daffodils!! Not what I'd expect to see before Christmas!
Have a lovely break over this festive season - I hope it's filled with much joy and brings you inspiration for the new year. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your amazing creative projects in 2026.😊
A nice read, and I can fully relate. Some lovely images there, make sure you still manage to grab images along the way on your busy journey.
Thanks Andrew - yes I'm hoping the break gives me that space to pick up the camera again and just have some fun with it.
.. that ‘photography may define you .. seems common here .. & is a ‘living to some as well ..
‘shoot to share..’ is my suggestion - & whatever or whomever ya ‘brung to the dance ??
.. well then - ‘Dance Like Everyone’s Looking .. eh 🦎🏴☠️🎬
Thanks for your support.
What a wonderful read Lin.
It’s the self doubt and uncertainty that can often lead us to undiscovered paths as we strive to become the best we can in our fields of creativity.
As for grand schemes, yes my own plans were scuppered in the summer, so there is resonance here also.
Wishing you the happiest of Christmas times and looking forward to seeing more of your musings and images in 2026.
Thanks so much Andy...and yes, the positive is that we can uncover new ideas when life, and those gremlins looking over our shoulders, try to trip us up! I'm sorry to hear your plans were scuppered too - hopefully with a positive outcome.
Have a lovely festive season and a new year filled with wonderful creative adventures!