Another way to see things………

During the last book project, I had an idea. I was aware that the Corvette factory in Bowling Green, Kentucky parked all the newly manufactured Corvettes in a large lot behind the factory
until they were shipped to dealers. I thought that an aerial shot almost straight down would create a great color shot in which the Corvettes would look much like a bunch of M&M’s on the ground.
One early morning I flew up form the Bowling Green airport and made the shot above. It worked and it reinforced the knowledge that sometimes it’s good to try and see things from a different perspective.

I got an interesting email from an acquaintance yesterday asking why I promoted so many other photographers rather than pounding my own chest. He shared that he thought I was a very good photographer, but seldom saw me “promote myself.”

While I very much appreciated the kind words about my photography, I had to think about his question before I answered his email. I know why I don’t go into a lot of self-promotion, but I wasn’t sure how to explain it. It was a good exercise in self evaluation. Let me first say that I don’t think how good you are at any activity, photography, golf, gardening, snow skiing, etc, etc.,
should be judged in any way except how much joy it brings to you and others. If you are a great golfer and love to play, you got your reward. If you grow a garden and you’re thrilled with what you get at harvest time, you got your reward.

reward |riˈwôrd|
noun
a thing given in recognition of service, effort, or achievement : the holiday was a reward for 40 years’ service with the company | figurative the emotional rewards of being a parent.
• a fair return for good or bad behavior : a slap on the face was his reward for his impudence.

I would like to alter the second part of the definition to say, “a fair return for an effort to excel”.
I think it is fair to hope that if you work very hard at any endeavor and don’t get discouraged when it is not going well, that in the end, you will get the “reward”. Here is the problem with sharing with others what kind of reward you think you should get, it doesn’t really matter to them.
If I work very hard to become a good photographer and I hope to get the reward of joy from the effort, I’m a winner, but if I want the reward of others admiring me, I may be disappointed. Others may not see the world the way I see it, and they may not think what I captured with a camera is not all that special, they are not me. If I’m happy with the photographic results, the process of seeking rewards should end there.

Of course it is very nice when someone says, “I love you images, or that image.” While it is nice, and feels good, it does not fundamentally change me as a person. When I see the work of other photographers and share their work and share about them, it brings me joy to share something that means something to me, but it’s not about me, just about something “I think” is special. It would be not be appropriate for me to be the one to share about how special anything is that I do.

Do I think I’m good at photography, sure, I’ve worked very hard and I think I’ve learned a lot over the last forty years. Does that mean I should shout it from the mountain tops? No need, if someone thinks my work is good, good, if they think it is not very special, that’s fine too, people have the right to think what ever they want to think. Neither evaluation by others changes who I am.

A long time ago in my walk with the Lord, I came to the decision that my life is not about me, but about Him. If I serve Him and are keeping my mind and heart focused on Him, I will not have time to be thinking a great deal about myself. I’m not suggesting that we cannot enjoy our accomplishments, we certainly can, and should. I’m just saying that trying to affect how others think of us is a pretty useless exercise. I want God to love me, and He already does, nothing I can do here will alter His love. I didn’t earn it in the first place, and I can’t elevate it by making a nice
photograph.

the pilgrim