Falling Back in Love with Photography

I first signed up as a contributor to Unsplash nearly ten years ago. At the time, the platform was still in its early stages. It was a growing community of photographers sharing high-quality images, completely free to use. It was an exciting idea: a kind of creative commons for photography, where images could be downloaded and used without worrying about licensing fees or complicated terms and conditions. It felt like a generous space, where creativity was shared simply for the joy of it.

And yet, for a long time, I stopped uploading.

The truth is, I didn’t think my photos were good enough. Despite being surrounded by a world of inspiration, both on the platform and in real life, I doubted my ability to contribute anything of value. So I stepped away from it, convinced that others were better, more skilled, more worthy of sharing.

That changed the day I visited Dungeness.

There’s something about that bleakly beautiful stretch of Kent coastline. The big skies, the battered boats, the ghosts of industry and the stubborn little garden plots that thrive among the shingle, they sparked something in me. I took my camera, wandered, and saw things differently. Not through the lens of “is this good enough?” but simply, “do I love this?” That day reminded me why I fell in love with photography in the first place.

And so I returned to Unsplash.

Uploading again has completely changed how I take photos. I look for detail, for story, for those quiet moments that might resonate with someone else. I take more time. I try not to edit too much, simply straightening a horizon is all I do. I find joy in uploading a photo and watching it find a home in someone else’s creative work. A blog post, a design, a presentation. There’s something incredibly satisfying in that kind of quiet collaboration. I can see how many times it has been used on Trello, Figma, Ghost, Notion or Buzzfeed. My photos of brick walls, stones, flooring are making backgrounds for people to add text and I love that.

If you’re not familiar with Unsplash, it’s a platform where photographers can share their work for free, and where anyone — from bloggers to designers to small business owners — can find beautiful imagery to use without cost or strings attached. In return, photographers get exposure, download stats, and often credit wherever their images are used. Many then go on to work on commissions for people who found them via the website or are asked if they will licence images to be used on greetings cards for instance. But more than that, it’s a community. One that encourages creativity, experimentation, and generosity.

I don’t tend to share much of my Unsplash work here on the blog, but I’d like that to change. So below, I’m sharing a few of my favourite recent uploads. They are little moments from places I love. Often quiet, sometimes a bit unexpected. But each one has brought me joy.

If you’re a fellow photographer (or even just a phone-camera snapper who loves a good shadow or a bright door), I’d absolutely encourage you to join. You never know where your photos might end up. Or what they might spark in someone else.