Is there a crossroads?
Where I choose whether I want to tell a story or photograph nature the way it is.
But see, there are people who tell stories way better than me, so let them tell the stories.
And see, that it is absolutely impossible to take that way you look at nature out from its context and on to a photograph. The photo feels just rather dead, let alone false, compared to the way nature is when I am by it.
It's beautiful you say, but what is beautiful and what is beauty anyway, and why should you want it? Colors on the photo are appealing to the eye, but the nature is not there. The beauty of the nature is somewhere else when it is said "it's a beautiful photo". Beauty is when you are. You can have it by yourself. There is no need to want it.
Skill? What skill? To use the machine? To capture that aliveness and movement into non-aliveness and non-movement? To put into a jail. Some call it even a hunt. If you hunt, you miss everything else. And isn't that everything else what is beautiful? And see, haven't you learned and are becoming an absolute master at using the machine in order to capture rather than free?
As a means for storytelling? Yes, it's quite wonderful as that -- as a pointer. But I think I'd point with something else (my whole being?) rather than a captured static picture -- what is it anyway nowadays -- pixels on screen -- 0's and 1's -- electricity -- back in the days it was more chemistry. It's quite nice when it points in a meaningful way. I could take them and tell a story, but then it will be story rather than nature the way it is.

And all this nonsense one has to do with "editing"... and all this other nonsense one has to do when "printing" has to happen.
And this sharpness and contrast and f-stop and curves and levels and filters and -- just go sit in the nature and see that it will be gone tomorrow -- and isn't that quite wonderful?

And so I have played with it. And shouldn't I go straight ahead not taking the roads left or right?

And isn't this whole writing a story too? Was there ever a choice and crossroads? It's a nice story.

And here you are.