IT’S HARD TO LET GO

I feel like every few months I have a new epiphany or a realization that I grew out of what I created here at Steezy Studios. When I reflect on how it all started and how in love I was with photography, it somewhat puts me in a state of grieving because I’m no longer the person that I was when I started this project. I’ve grown up and expanded. My new pursuits don’t align with what this site/project once was. The audience came for wild nights, naked models and a person behind the lens that was okay with living life on the edge if it produced self-indulgent content. Sometimes I joke and say, “Trying to feed my current audience the positive, conscious minded subject matter that I want to inject into society now is like trying to preach the bible to a room full of atheists”. 

So where does that leave me, or shall I say where does that position this website? Well, I know that this isn’t the place to try to endocrine the comprehensive state of wellbeing that I’m currently in. It’s not on brand and you, the audience, came here purely for photography, which has lead me to a fork in the road because I don’t know if I identify with being a photographer any longer. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love photography and will make photos for the rest of my life but it isn’t at the forefront of who I am or what I wish to pursue. To say I am a thing that doesn’t fully fulfill me any longer would be a disservice to a discipline that I have a tremendous amount of love and respect for.

Do I re-work this site and shape it to mold my viewpoints or do I completely start over with a new brand, new idea, new place for spiritual and creative growth? That’s what I’ve been grappling with for the past two years. I feel like I’m in an unfulfilling relationship but its hard to leave because I’ve spent over a decade here and I still feel a sense of comfort in the discomfort. When life was hard, bad, sad or chaotic, photography and this website was always here for me to vent to. For me to shed my tears with and for me to pour all of my aspirations into. This project has saved my life more times than I wish to express. It was, and somewhat will always be, my baby.

What do I do? That my friends, is my current battle.

-Danny