Getting Your Head on Straight……
For some time now I’ve been obsessed with the new push to get out the eBooks! It’s really a great thing because secretly, (well not anymore), my greatest love after the Lord, my family and photography is writing! I truly love to try and express myself in the written word, emphasis on “try”! Some activities make us happy and writing is one of those for me. So I got an email yesterday from a good friend who was concerned because of my “push” to get these eBooks done, she was afraid I had a terminal illness! I do have a terminal health issue, it’s called life! I’m 68 and will be 69 in February so the clock is ticking! Now I may live another decade or more, but I really want to share a whole lot of stuff, so I’m dedicating myself to getting it done now….
One book I’m planning is the title of this blog post, “Getting Your Head On Straight!” I meet people all the time that express to me that they have a very deep desire to get really good at photography, and they want my advice. I also have a great desire to help them, but truthfully it’s not just about aperture, shutter speeds, which camera body and how sharp is your lens! No, I think it all starts with getting your head on straight. Let me give you the brief outline of that book, which of course, will get fleshed out a great deal more.
Step One: What is your goal? Now you can’t just say become a great photographer, you have to quantify what you mean by GREAT! By great do you mean highly respected by others, widely published, the author of many best selling books, having one man shows in prestigious galleries? You have to have a more reasonable goal than that. Keep in mind that Joe McNally, a truly great photographer, is having his first one man show in Santa Fe right now! Joe is well up in his fifties and has worked hard as photographer his entire life. Joe is considered by many, me included, as one of the greatest photojournalists in the history of photography! Do you really want to saddle your passion with such a lofty goal. Why not just have the goal of just getting better each day?
Step Two: Be realistic and set a goal that is attainable. Instead of 6 best selling books, why don’t you decide that you are going to try to really get the fundamentals of photography down pat, and see where that takes you! It may not shock you to find out that Joe started where you are, and he worked very hard for along time to get to that gallery in Santa Fe! Make several short term goals, that when added up get you to that book or a gallery show! It can be done, but it is a process!
Step Three: Get used to the idea that this journey you are on, is a long one, and it is going to take time! Even more important, determine that you are going to enjoy the journey! Somewhere down the road of this journey you are going to realize the great joy that comes from learning, why not start enjoying it now. i treasure my great experiences, friends, and laughter to any of my personal achievements!
Step Four: Get used to disappointment. I love that line from a Princess Bride, because folks, in life, you will have disappointments, and failures. Keep in mind that failure is an opportunity to learn how not to do something. In the end, your progress as a photographer will be determined by how much you fail, and how much you’ve learned from your failures. Sometimes it hurts, but it is for your own good! No one ever gets better without some failure along the way!
Step Five: Relax and have fun. Photography can bring you many great treasures, experiences, and wonderful friends. Enjoy the ride, the destination is just up ahead, have fun getting there! When you do arrive at the destination, you will realize that it was the journey, after all, that was the greatest joy! The more you relax, the better your vision will be, and of course, the better your images will be too!
Now the book will go further and have a lot of suggestions on how to implement these ideas, but you get the idea. Don’t fail to enjoy this great craft!
Blessings,
the pilgrim
* Photo Note: Roof of wooden beams in a pavilion in Chicago. Fuji XT-1 – Fujinon 10-24 zoom
This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 8th, 2014 at 6:46 pm
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Your new book “Getting Your Head On Straight!” could apply to many endeavors beyond photography but you knew that. I expect the book will have much wisdom about life as well as photography.
That would certainly be my intention!!!
Allow me to add: Step four and one-half. Don’t let photography be more of a money pit than it already is. Some people think more (and pricier) “tools” make them better photographers. T’aint necessarily so! How many times have we seen glorious images taken by a little old lady with a point and shoot? She didn’t have the pricey gear but had the vision, the light and the willingness to take the photo. The easiest ways to waste money in photography is to either overspend or underspend. Entry-level cameras can take good photos but are easy to outgrow. An ultra cheap tripod and head may not work well at all. Buying the next step up in the line (and good used lenses, tripods or heads) will give you better gear and, if you get more into photography and expand to more and better gear, you won’t lose your initial investment as it’ll serve you well as a backup. That lesson I and my credit cards learned long ago, sometimes the hard way! Last weekend I shot waterfalls and fall color (such as it was with 40mph winds) in Jim Clark country (West Va. and Va.). No camera bag — just an X-E2 and X-E1 with RRS L-brackets, 18-55 and 55-200mm lenses, circular polarizers, two ND grads, three cable releases, two spare batteries and a charger, blower bulb, ROR, microfiber wash cloth and hotel shower cap, extra SD cards, small ballhead, carbon fiber tripod and a $2.99 foldable Ikea backpack to throw everything in just in case it started to rain. That’s it. All but the tripod fit in my $39.99 rollaboard bag (with clothes, MacBook, toiletries, etc.).
Very well stated, good information!
Hi Bill
I always learn something new when I read your blog, which is every day so I thank you for that. This is a great line of thinking and I’m happy I read it. I tend to get pretty hard on myself for my bad shots and don’t always look at them as an opportunity to learn.
Thank you.
Best
Upde
I think we all struggle with, “How hard should I be on myself?!” I personally believe it is a delicate balance between patting ourselves on the back, and scolding ourselves for our failures. I would like to think I can really enjoy the craft while staying aware that my maturation is not finished! You can really enjoy being a shooter and yet still press yourself to get better!
Bill I love your work one question what Nikon mount do you use on the XT1? Do Nikon AF lens work on the camera with the mount. I understand that they won’t AF but will they manual focus. For Instance the Nikkor 300 F4?