Matthew,
I approach this differently than a lot of the people here (but not all, by any means.) I was a fine arts major, and approach photography as an art form, rather than photography. I started drawing when I was six and got my first camera, a Poloraid Swinger, when I was 11. Nothing is more intimidating than a blank canvas.
I believe that each of us sees things in a unique way. You could just be in a dry spell, and the solution is to shoot through it. I hit one of those a little while ago, and my wife turned me loose for a Sunday afternoon. I hopped in my truck, filled the tank with gas, got a six pack of Diet Cokes, my camera and took off driving down some country road I had never taken before. I stopped and took photos in the small towns, found a terrific old tree. Jumped a fence and shot some creeks. Got a few good photos, but the best part was just wandering around for the day.
I also started shooting concerts for my school, and high school football games for a small weekly newspaper. These took the onus off of me to "find things to shoot", and let me just take the photos. Nothing is nicer than knowing your shots have a place to go.
The problem you're wrestling with is "What do I want my work to say?" Sometimes you ask yourself, am I just "tryin to make a purty pitcher?" What is important to you? What breaks your heart? What makes you so happy tears come to your eyes? can you capture that in a photo? The great photos aren't just technically good. They move you. Look at photos your parents took. Were they great photos? Probably not. But they move you because you remember those people.
I looked at your work, and it looks very good. I like the landscapes a lot. You definitely should keep shooting. You might also try to get in a photography guild or something, or enter some shows. Sometimes it's time to shoot, sometimes it's time print, matt, frame, and get your work out in front of other people.
Try sitting down and writing out what you believe, what you care about, what you want your work to say. Read stories by your favorite author and think about the visual imagery created by the words. Look at photo books of terrific photographers. Go to an art gallery and look at work by artists you like. I personally love to go back and look through work by Margaret Bourke White, suggest you go here and read the "lessons on looking"
http://www.efn.org/~sroehr/mbwindex.html
Anyway, IMHO, the dry spell you're going through is simply that you've reached a plateau, and want to go beyond what you've done. Technically, as I said, your work is excellent. However, does it say anything? And most important, what do you want it to say? I think that's your next mountain to climb in your development. How will you get there? Just keep chipping away. Hang in there. And seriously, don't quit shooting. You have talent, now, just find your voice.
I've shot my local area about as thoroughly as I can and I'm burned
out (Raleigh, NC). I recently got back from a trip to the
southwest and other than the rainy weather which limited my shot
opportunity felt like I was in photographer's paradise.
I basically shoot landscape and wildlife along with the obligatory
family pictures. I haven't found any other flavor of photography
very interesting.
There are some good places to shoot landscape / wildlife in North
Carolina, but they are mostly 3-4 hours away.
Is the only answer to do more travel? I see a bottomless hole in
my time / finances opening up here, but I feel drawn in that
direction. The muse is calling. . .
--
my favorite work:
http://www.pbase.com/sdaconsulting/favorite_work
