Blue Lines, Acadia National Park
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Acadia
Anthony's Nose, Hudson Valley
“The challenge is to focus on the work, not on the fear that comes from doing the work.” – Seth Godin
The ability to accomplish anything in life is directly tied to your convictions and confidence. The talent lies not in some innate genetic disposition, but in learning to see past the minds own limited perspective. But there is another element that is often overlooked – generosity.
Many of my accomplishments were the result of throwing caution to the wind, trusting my instincts, and slowly learning that I could accomplish whatever I set my mind to – regardless of my fear. Here are two ideas to commit to heart – NEVER doubt yourself and think BIG – things I’ve done throughout my life. There will be significant setbacks and disappointments, but out of that growth and experience, the kind that really makes a positive difference.
BUT, I still struggled and wondered why it was so hard to do what I loved to do – photography. Then I started to think differently about my goals, my failures, and started focusing on what matters – doing the work. Now when I see others that have the ability but fail because of commitment or execution, it makes me frustrated, but more than that, it makes me want to help.
Much of what I have learned has come from asking for help. When I have asked for help from others, I accepted that help without reservation and didn’t let my ego interfere. This serves two purposes – it keeps me humble, and it reminds me to help others along their path. And nothing will bring you closer to achieving your goals than generosity. Sure it may take longer, and in our culture of instant gratification, this will not be a popular option. But the results will be so much more valuable and lasting.
The Importance of Generosity
On a workshop
In my opinion, there is no better feeling than being generous, and I have not been disadvantaged by this in any way whatsoever, on the contrary it has enriched my work and my life. I give my knowledge freely and without waiting for anything in return. Then I try and accomplish my own goals, no matter how far fetched they are – simple concept, yet not always easy to practice.
Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them. – The Law of Compensation – Little Go-Giver Book
Think about what you want to accomplish in your life – whether that involves photography, work and business, or personal issues. Then think about how you can help someone else in some small way. I can guarantee you from personal experience that once you think this way, you goals will begin to move towards you faster than ever before.
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As I walked into the hall and saw the 20 or so images beautifully matted and presented on the front wall, I thought “are you sure you can do this?”. The different colors, shapes, and subjects, as well as the feelings of the photographer who made each photograph became the obstacle course I’d have to navigate before the evening was over! So began the photo critique I was asked to do at the Ulster County Camera Club last night.
I must admit I had never done a critique of this scale before, only working with students in my workshops. When you talk to people individually, there is a certain intimacy that makes a critique more comfortable. But when you have to critique a photograph in front of 50 people, well that’s a whole different story! To begin, I made it perfectly clear that a critique is totally subjective, and should never become discouraged by failure, but instead rejoice in seeing how they can potentially improve their work – this is how we get better!
Ultimately, I just did what I always do on my workshops, and that is to try to make every word count, and focus on providing the greatest benefit to the photographer whose image I am critiqueing. In other words, how can I best help someone with complete generosity and kindness? Only this way can I gain the trust and confidence of someone else, and the whole situation becomes a win-win for the student, always the best deal in my opinion.
Once I adopted that frame of mind, the critique actually became enjoyable as I noticed that often a photographer would nod in agreement with my particular comment, especially when it was about how they could improve their work. I felt more comfortable to speak with openness, everyone’s guard was down, and I genuinely wanted each person to walk out of the event a better photographer.
A Simple Way to Improve Your Photography
Now I want to briefly share my overall impression of what I saw and offer some suggestions that may be of benefit to your work. While there were many different styles and levels of aesthetic quality, there was one overarching issue with most if not all of the images to some degree or another. It can be summed up in a statement I try and drill into every workshop student: “what doesn’t add detracts from an image”. Over and over again I noticed images that were trying to say too much, which is another way of saying the photographer was trying too hard.
This is normal and a necessary stage along any photographers path to improvement. But it is important to be aware of it. Simplicity is the key to story telling, and this is what we all want to accomplish with our images. Sometimes it was a question of framing, or perspective, or depth of field. All of these play an important role in how clearly you express your vision – or not.
Every single part of an image is as important as every other part.
This means that the center is no less important that the edges, and the bottom as important as the top. This is something that I think almost every photograph I saw could improve upon. Perhaps there is a fear of not including enough, or wanting to capture everything we see in front of us.
But the most important thing to remember is that we use many of our senses to experience the world, and these all add to our perception, which is surprisingly pretty narrow when you think about it. We stand in front of the Grand Canyon in complete awe, but our gaze is on a specific point in the distance, while our other senses bombard our brain with sounds, smells, memories, and emotions. Unfortunately, the camera does not “see” this way, and captures everything with perfect clarity – not what we need in order to convey our emotions to the viewer.
This is where simplicity is our strongest tool, and making a clear statement will help a viewer see, understand, and feel what you felt and saw.
Evolution of an image in Acadia National Park
Cluttered and busy - point of interest is confusing.
Simple in statement and story - the beauty and serenity of nature.
I will be writing more about the role of simplicity in photography in the future, and I’d love your feedback on any other photographic topics you’d like me to discuss on the blog. Thanks as always for reading!
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