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A "Decade of Stumbling Around in the Darkness." Watch Episode 3 of Personal Work with Forest Mankins Now

Episode 3 finds our favorite photographer at home on the ranch. Come along as Forrest does some weed eatin', hay balin', and reflectin' on his growth as an artist.

Wayne Grayson • Oct 08, 2026

No matter what art or career you pursue, it can be tempting to always push forward. After all, so many of our metaphors for success are caught up in redefining our success. Raising the bar. Stepping stones. Pushing toward the finish line. Reaching the mountain top.

However, if we always look forward, and never take time to look back on how far we've come, we can easily lose sight of the bigger picture. That's exactly what photographer Forrest Mankins explores in his latest episode of Personal Work.

Episode 3 finds Mankins at home on the ranch, doing chores, taking photos, and digging through his archives to appreciate not only where the art of photogaphy has taken him, but also how it has changed him. As he looks back into photos he took in the past, particularly random shots from everyday life, Mankins remarks, "I'm noticing the more that I'm kind of shooting this stuff, maybe I really care less and less about what I think I should be shooting from a commercial standpoint."

Of one photo of light hitting a patch of cattails, Mankins says "I love it. I don't even care if no one ever cares about it. I love it." Of shooting what moves you in the moment rather than chasing the perfect photo, Mankins says, "At this point I think I finally do really know that being yourself is kind of the superpower. I wish that in the first 10 years of photography I had shot more of my daily life and the people around me."

You can watch Personal Work Episode 3 below or check it out on YouTube here.

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