Phases

Reconciling Our Earlier Work

Responses

Skip to Comments

By Chris Murray | August 31, 2020

Chris Murray

Chris Murray is a full-time photographer, instructor, and writer from New York State. His photographs are not meant to be a literal document of the woods, mountains, and rivers of his home state, but rather a creative expression of his relationship with the places that ceaselessly inspire him.

chrismurrayphotography.com

I recently tackled the arduous task of reorganising the galleries on my website. The most difficult part of the process was deciding what of my earlier work to include if any. It wasn’t so much a question of quality as one of deciding which work best represents the photographer I am today. After much hand wringing and back and forth, I ultimately chose to include some of my earlier work and exclude the rest, but I still feel uneasy about the decision and the question has continued to nag at me.

Like most photographers, there are distinct periods to my work.

There was nothing in my work to differentiate me from the throngs of other photographers. That all changed five years ago when I began to make much more creative, personally expressive work, an evolution that continues to this day. The question I have been wrestling with is, how do I regard the work prior to this shift? Do I ignore it or embrace it?

This article is open to paid and unpaid subscribers so requires at least a free subscription to access. Please take a look at the subscribe page for more information.

On Landscape is part of Landscape Media Limited , a company registered in England and Wales . Registered Number: 07120795. Registered Office: 1, Clarke Hall Farm, Aberford Road, WF1 4AL.