Fear of Abandonment:
Why We Never Finish a Work
“Reaching for a Light in the Dark” Aiken County, SC, September 2022
Hello Friend,
I think I am one of those rare photographers who actually likes writing and sees it as an important part of my photographic and artistic process. I’ve never really been in the camp that a photo has to stand on its own. Yes, many photos are displayed on their own or maybe only with a title. But I’ve always enjoyed writing in general and how the two mediums intertwine.
In fact, while I was first diving into photography in high school and college, I was also taking creative writing classes. Not that I ever thought I’d do a book, but I did write a few short stories. I bring this up as a way to set the stage for this week’s blog.
I vividly remember hanging out in the hall before a writing class at the University of Missouri. There were a few of us chatting with our teacher as he finished a smoke. Someone brought up the topic of ending a story or finishing a work or knowing when something was done enough to publish. One of us naïvely said “You will know.” Another, “When everything falls into place.” Or “When your characters finally do what you tell them.”
“Going My Way” Aiken, SC, March 2023
I’m sure we said a few other things, but it was what he said that has stuck with me. When he looked at all of us he said, “Nope, it’s none of that. Because you never finish a work.” Pause for effect. “You abandon it.” He then abandoned us in the hall with our mouths open as he headed into the classroom.
Because he thought this was something important, he wanted to be in class with all the students when he did expand on his idea. When the topic was brought up, people tried to argue against his logic. But very quickly intuition, perfection and control were tossed out. We can’t create perfect – there is always something more to tweak – and we ultimately don’t have control – even of the things we create. Soon the class was nodding along as we started to see his reasoning.
He went on to say, that at some point the work will need to be let go and be set free into the world. A deadline approaches, boredom sets in, the work starts to repeat itself, you can only “fix” something so much before you actually start to hurt the work.
At that point, what’s left? Abandonment.
“Chaos and Pickup” Aiken, SC, December 2022
This was freeing. Working towards abandonment is so much less daunting. We often think of our works as children. And just like children, you can only teach them so much, you need to let them go and live their own lives. As we know, smothering kids, even in love, can keep them from growing like they are meant to. It also frees us to move on to the next thing in all of our lives.
There are two sides to abandonment I think are worth exploring: Stopping too soon and going on too long.
Stopping too soon: Are we giving up on our work too soon? Are we not pushing our limits? Are we settled and fine with the way we have been doing things before? Are we abandoning our work when there is more it has to show us?
This may seem odd when I started talking about when to be done with a work. Just hear me out. I think about this a little when I play with a photo in Photoshop. I sometimes move some of the sliders to an extreme, just to see what happens. Often, I abandon that, and dial it back to where I “typically” make my adjustments. But sometimes I stop and sit back to look at and question what I just did. Did I go too far? Have I not been going far enough? Have I been abandoning things too soon before? For me, this is where new ideas and possibilities come into play. Maybe I haven’t been pushing my edge in a way that would really move my work forward.
“Up Against the Wall” Aiken, SC, March 2024
In my writing there might be a line in the back of my head that keeps coming up. I sometimes write it down, even if it doesn’t fit with what I’m working on at the moment. This might lead to something right then, or it might be something to come back to and spend time with. And just as often, I find what I wrote will come into play in a different part of the work. But if I don’t write it soon, the idea might be lost completely, and the thought is abandoned before it even began.
Going on too long: Are we sticking with a piece or project too long? Are we holding on to it too tightly and not letting it beath on its own? Do we find little imperfections as a way to not let the work go and be in the world as it is – imperfections and all? Are we not abandoning the work when it has shown us what we need to learn, and we are afraid to move on?
How many of us have worked on a photo so long that you step back and don’t recognize the work? You notice your painting has more going on that distracts from what your original idea was. The book project that you started with one theme or idea, but has now gone off in a multitude of directions. What do we do? We often abandon it. We may or may not share the work. We may or may not destroy the work. I hope we don’t destroy any of our work; there is too much to learn from these abandoned pieces. When we go back to the original file, put a new canvas on the easel, return to our original outline, those ideas and themes are still within us. And will make themselves know in some way going forward.
Patrick Krohn
March 2026
“The Backside of Laurens Street” Aiken, SC, December 2025
I am seeing this at play as I was wondering what photos to use for this post. When I think about an abandoned project, I look at my “Trees in a Sea of Darkness.” I keep wanting to go back to it, but I haven’t found the time. Though, it has helped in the development of my “Urban Trees” project. Similar, related, but different.
As you can see, there are two slightly opposed but intertwining factors here. Are we using our current way of doing things as a crutch to keep from exploring a thought or a piece as far as it can go? I know I catch myself returning to the same places and themes because they are easy and familiar. Or are we looking at our work and always seeing it as not good enough, and thus, not ready for prime time? There are a few blogs I have written and many photos I have taken that I haven’t put out for one reason or another. Since I haven’t gotten them to be “just right”, I can’t let them go. I hope I get them to the point where I do feel they can be abandoned – either on my hard drive only or to let them free into the world for others to read and see.
Have I helped or confuse you? That we need to push passed and abandon our current way of doing things as well as pushing those new things out into the world – when we feel they are ready to be abandoned.
My challenge this week is to pick some way to push ourselves creatively and then show it to at least one other person.
Thank you, and keep creating what you do.
“Ghost of Hotel Aiken” Aiken, SC, February 2024
One of the cures for both of these are deadlines. These can be self-imposed, like I will publish a blog post every week. Or I will put out at least five photos on social media a week. They can also be imposed by others, such as when a publisher has time on their schedule to print your book. Or when a project is due to a client. One of my favorite authors is Terry Pratchett. There are stories of him making edits to his books even while presses are getting ready to start. But at some point, the presses do start, and the editing must come to an end.
Perfectionism is one of the most common reasons we do not finish a work. We can always find something more to adjust or rewrite or paint over before it is “finished”. Though, if we give ourselves permission to “abandon the work”, we will be giving ourselves a powerful tool to help us both explore and move on at the same time.
This could mean putting the work out there for others to see and explore and enjoy. And also, could be something you return to at a later point with a new perspective. Though, if one work is not abandoned, the other works might not come about because that new perspective has not had the freedom to breath and grow.