MORE PHOTOGRAPHY REMINISCING

Photography is learning to see life with your own eyes.

The key to developing as a photographer is being in the moment as much as possible. That requires you to be in touch with who you are, your viewpoint, and what you have to say – your inner voice. Then you need to get out of the way as much as possible.

Replace ego with empathy. Avoid forcing yourself on the subject, slow down and play in the moment. Make photography a walking meditation based on joy, not judging and labeling. Let the photograph come to you. Fall in love with the world and the idea of it letting the moment discover you, not the other way around.

Move beyond the cliché. Trust risk. Release your expectations. Feel inspired, passionate. Commit to an idea, then a background, then a composition. Remove everything from the viewfinder except that which speaks to you directly. Avoid contradicting messages. Cut through the noise. Look for underlying designs, symbols, and gestures. Recognize your color and compositional keys, then make those intuitive so you are no longer thinking but just feeling when composing an image. Move from purposeful thinking, to knowing, to feeling, to becoming, to transcending.

Do not fear mistakes, or the rest of what I call the “Seven Deadly Fears”: Fear Of Not Having The Right Equipment, Fear Of Not Being Talented Enough, Fear Of Failure, Fear Of Beginning/Finishing, Fear Of Not Being Understood, Fear Of Not Being Approved Of, and Fear Of Success. Acknowledge the presence of these fears and move forward anyway. Then obstacles can be turned into opportunities.

The goal is pure seeing with a confident and well-developed style – where lighting and composition have been carefully chosen to accentuate the essence of the subject without calling attention to the photographer or his tools.

Remember, the more personal you make it, the more universal it becomes. Tell your story.