“It isn’t what a picture is of, it is what it is about.” – John Szarkowski
And that involves the photographer and the viewer.
Storm Clouds Over the Plains
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Stormy Weather -
Contemplation and Listening
Storm Clouds When people confine themselves to their prisons made of asphalt, concrete, glass, bank accounts, office cubicles, new cars, large homes, malls, theaters and our inflated egos, we have no concept of what our natural world offers us. I believe some people feel they are bigger than the world, own it and have the right to destroy it. The word that comes to mind is entitlement. Yet, we really have no idea how insignificant we are in the scheme of nature. How many of us focus on what we can take from the world not what we can offer back to the world? What direction would our world be moving towards if more (idealistically everyone) were to connect with nature? Touching nature does not need to be a week long back packing trip. It can be a walk in a natural area or wildlife refuge or the local botanical garden or your own garden or a farmers field. I like how John Sexton says it in the quote I posted a few days ago, “…I feel quiet, yet intense energy in the natural elements of our habitat. A sense of magic prevails. A sense of mystery. It is a time for contemplation, for listening…”
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Taking Action
February Sunset Examine the lives of people who have truly excelled in any of the arts – music, theater, dance, sculpture – and they have one characteristic in common: the capacity to commit themselves wholeheartedly to their chosen disciplines. They do it every day. No excuses. A dancer, for example, cannot compete at even the lowest level without years of daily exercising; a pianist cannot perform at a concert after having taken a nine-month break; actors are not given roles in a Shakespeare play because they fell they should be. So why should photographers expect to reseive one-person exhibitions or publications without similar dedication? Are the standards in photography so low that success can be archieved with so little effort? Of course not. – David Hurn
I mentioned in a previous post that one of the components of motivation is getting “active.” None of us will succeed at attaining a goal unless we get in gear and become active. For someone like me who considers himself a dreamer, it requires a major effort to take steps and get active on those dreams. Don’t get me wrong as I’m not a couch potato and do get active on many fronts of my life. It seems I falter when the dreams are about my creative side.
I can find a hundred excuses for not taking action on inspirations and not one of them holds much weight. It is easier for me to just dream about ideas or projects. That way they are a success but only in my imagination. Taking action requires effort and time plus the possibility it may not turn out the way I dreamed: failure. And I am aware that those failures are vital steps to improving. After a period of little action, I finally spent almost two full days shooting. My simple action accomplished more than one objective. The thought of failure was gone. My creative juices were flowing. I felt good inside. I also put a few miles on the car, testing it in the snow and mud, which it did pretty good. So, I guess this post is about getting off my tush and taking action otherwise my dreams and inspirations are only unfulfilled fantasies. Now, to clean the car and the bathroom. 🙁