Can't take photos since best buddys car crash

[MonsterMunch]

Can't take photos since best buddys car crash

Me and my best buddy Mike started a football (soccer) photography business last year, selling action and commercial shots to the UK media. Things were very tough, financially and with an 80-hour+ week, but we really bounced off eachother and were making a fight of it. He arranged the games, called the papers and I took the photos, edited them and sent them off. We covered grass roots events right through to international games in the big stadiums. It was a brilliant.

Then one night in November last year a cop came to my front door and told me that Mike had been seriously injured in a car crash.

After several weeks, and despite every bad prediction a doctor could make, Mike managed to pull through his coma and start talking a walking again. He's now almost back to normal, give or take.

Since the night of the accident I've had real problems taking photos. I tried to get some shots for the local paper but they were awful, not even worth talking about. Most of my gear has remained locked away since that night and it's as if there's a barrier there I just can't get past.

I'm wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience that has stopped them taking photos. I've since moved onto website design but with $20k of Nikon kit I worked my butt off to save up for just gathering dust. Please help!

Some of my recent photos:

http://www.pbase.com/welshfootballnews

[JSPhoto]

Welcome to the foeum.
Wow, that is tough, sorry to hear about your friends accident, but glad to hear he pulled through OK. I can't say I have been in that exact position you are, but I do have bad days, we all do, it's like any other other job, you'll have bad days, even weeks. It's like an athlete in a slump, you have to fight through it, keep at it and get back to it. If you fall off a horse you get right back on and ride again.
Maybe instead of shooting a game just pick up the camera go out back or somewhere and start shooting, sooner or later you'll get it back.
Or take a lesson from your buddy, he didn't give up....why should you?

JS

[jorgemonkey]

First off I'm glad your buddy is pulling through.

Its not photography related, but a few years ago I blacked out while on a MTB ride. I don't remember a 20yard second, I just remember seeing the rocks getting closer as I went head first into them, with my bike landing on top. I ended up with a concussion, a few stitches, and lots of cuts/bruising. It took me a year to get the courage to go back down and ride that trail. I rode other places fine, but that one train, I just couldn't do it.

Instead of shooting sports, try going out and shooting some portraits, landscape, macro, anything else besides sports. Its amazing what a little change can do.