~~Opening Your Heart~~

Being a good photographer starts with opening your mind and your eyes.  You need to see things/event/people in ways that no one else does.  It requires keen skills of observation...not just looking around...observing.  It require that you are mindful when you are looking around.

However, you can be a good photographer by opening your mind and your eyes, but if you want to be a great photographer, you must also open your heart.  Love your surroundings, even if they are not loveable.  Love your subjects without judgment.  Want the best for your clients.  Love your clients and enjoy observing them opening their minds, eyes and hearts.

A client learning how to “see” differently to become a better photographer

Well....

I am all packed for Alaska... Hats, scarves, gloves, boots, and most important--camera gear.  I checked the weather, and the reports say "Mostly snow"....  Boo.

But I am keeping an open mind for adventure, not outcomes! The outcomes will be what they will be!

~~Some Photogs...Really?~~

Yesterday, at dusk, I was photographing the elk in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Because it is rut (mating) season, many people are out watching the elk activity. Another photographer stepped in my shot, so I simply said, "Excuse me."

He turned around and said, "I'm sorry...but my lens is bigger than yours...."

I responded, "Size doesn't matter when you know how to use your equipment."  

He left.

Friends

In those "early" years, I didn't make many friends. I isolated. Everyone is a judge. And truly, none of us has a duty or right to judge others. It is too easy to judge.  The Norwegian proverb stays locked in my mind:

"Sweep before your own door first

before you sweep the doorsteps of your neighbors." 

I, like everyone, don't want to be judged. So I isolated...and when I did creep out once in a while...it was all good all the time. No one knew about my personal hell.

I tend to isolate when things aren't going so well. I am, by nature, an introvert. Most people laugh when I say that because I am very outgoing. To me, strangers are just friends I have not met yet.

Introverts get their energy from being alone and being quiet.  Extroverts, on the other hand, get their energy from being with others.  I get most of my peace and energy by being alone.  I love my alone time...probably way too much.  Thank God for internet friends!  (Giggling, but it is true.)

Getting out is critical to good mental health, so I decided to go to a class at a local camera shop. And to my surprise and delight, the photographers in the class were friendly, nice and helpful!  They were not like my instructor...not a all.  They shared, were helpful. And when they saw my work seemed genuinely excited by my "eye."  In fact, they invited me on "photo walks."  I didn't know what a photo walk was, but now I crave them and invite others regularly.

This one experience changed me dramatically...just like the "lesson" changed me. But this was one of the most positive experiences of my life.  I really saw the light...and I was transformed, encouraged and thrilled about my new life of photography.

I had lived in the business world for all of my adult life...too bad...so sad.  I never considered myself to be creative or gifted in anything...but writing, speaking and communicating.  This new, physical form of expression started feeding my soul like nothing ever in my life.

Photographers can be snooty and rude, but I searched...and found...so many lovely friends in photography that helped me...and now...after a few years, I get to help others.  I would never laugh at someone learning...ever.

I have even had the pleasure of coaching new photographers....and experienced ones, too!  How fun is that.

Photography feeds my soul.  Friends feed my soul.  And then there are photographer friends......

Mike Brown
mikefish001@yahoo.ca

Joe Newman
Bastrop, TX
Joe.in.Bastrop@gmail.com

Cindy Hamilton Wentzloff
Grand Rapids, MI
www.cynthiagailphotography.com

Matthew Tracy
Portland, Oregon
mtfenderplayer@yahoo.com

Sean Smith
Dallas, TX
txbol.yahoo.com

John Mariani
Wyoming
johnmariani.skybeam.com

Marilyn Kidwell
Cedar City, UT
maklv.me.com

Mike and Marie Adkins
Dallas, TX
www.michaeladkinsphotography.com

Rick DiGiammarino
Boston, MA
rickdigi2000@comcast.net

Tim Wohlever
Scottsdale, AZ
tim.wohlever@gmail.com

Peeking Out

When I was first going through the mess I got myself into, I needed to find a way to regain my mental (and probably physical) health.  I was deep into the darkness of the situation that was completely out of my control.

I starting peeking out into the world.  "Out there" was a much better place than "in here." As a friend once told me, "Never stay long in your own head. It is too scary in there."

I got my first "real" camera in 2010, but really didn't use it much. Photography seemed much too complicated, and I didn't have much energy or capacity at that time to delve into something so complex.  I played with the camera a bit.... These are the very first pictures I took with my Canon Rebel T2i--cringe worthy, for certain...ugh.

I wanted to get better, so I bought a "Groupon" for a lesson with a local photographer.  I was nervous and intimidated, but I made it to the appointment. The professional photographer examined my camera and and told me it was "okay for a starter camera."  I thought, "Hmmmm....that is a shot...and not very nice."

During the lesson, she talked about F-Stops and ISO and Depth of Field.  She quizzed me on the mathematics of the formulas.  And when I got the aperture issue incorrect, she laughed and seemed to take pleasure in making me wrong.  (By the way, not all of photography is "intuitive.")

The final straw that made me put my camera away for nearly a year was when she asked me if I shoot in RAW.  I simply stared blankly and asked, "What is RAW?"  Again, she laughed and said "Never mind."

Are all photographers so snooty and rude?  If so, I didn't want to be one.

(This shot is just for my instructor....nature's answer to mean people.)  

Even though I had a tough experience, I still itched to shoot.  I knew that if I stayed "in here" too long the darkness would continue to take over and I'd never get to see the light again.

Interesting that one of the most important aspects of photography is...the light.

Peeking out into the light motivated me to keep picking up my "starter camera."