contemplation
van dusen gardens, vancouver
It is commonplace to think about making changes at the beginning of the year and although I am not one for making New Year’s resolutions, I do believe that to succeed at anything, we need to periodically stop and contemplate if we are heading in the right direction. Just the other day my sister and I were discussing Malcolm Gladwell’s new book Outliers: The Story of Success and in particular the number of hours of practice he says it takes to master a skill. If we are to believe Gladwell–that it takes 10,000 hours–then I certainly have a long way to go before I can truly say I am a photographer. Improving my photographic skills will take practice but it is also the nature of that practice that will determine the degree of success. Scott Bourne of This Week in Photography (TWiP) had an interesting posting on Monday where he wrote that the primary ingredients behind greatness in any pursuit are patience, perseverance and passion.
Scott writes that without patience, you’ll need luck and opportunity for to be a great photographer you have to wait for the right light, look for the right angle, find the right subject, and know your equipment so that it all becomes second nature. He also discusses the highs and lows in the pursuit of an image and only those who stick it out, despite the obstacles, will become great photographers. Lastly he believes that passion is the most important of the three ingredients. There is a certain kind of intensity that must be present, one that can be seen in people getting up at 4 in the morning to make a photo shoot (like my friend Alex) or those who make sacrifices to save up for a new piece of equipment (like my cousin Marc).
So how am I measuring up? Well if my “what’s next” list is any indication, I am working hard on getting in my 10,000 hours. Also a while ago I decided to take a one-day Nikon DSLR workshop at VPW after I realized that I probably know less than 20% of the features on my D80. As for highs and lows, I think I understand this concept well. Last August when I was in Seattle with Bryan Peterson, we spent a whole evening up at Kerry Park getting shots of the city skyline with a full moon. At the end of the evening I was so disappointed when I looked at my images and saw that not even one single photo had turned out! But what I felt next was so unexpected. I realized that how I felt on my worst day photographically–being with a master photographer like Bryan on a shoot of a lifetime and not having anything to show for it–was better than a really good day in my other life. This brings me to the last ingredient. For this, I will let a friend of mine speak since passion is something most evident through the testimony of others. I recently sent her a link to this blog and here is what she had to say: “I am soooooo impressed with you. You have totally found your passion in this photography – it is totally cool that you are learning so much…the photos are amazing. You really have talent. Your father would (be) so proud of you!!!”
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