Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Every expert was once a beginner

I saw this quote the other day and I really like it. It is good inspiration for me. No one starts out perfect, and when I feel overwhelmed about everything I want to learn, this is a good and calming mantra to repeat. It leads my mind to the philosophy of "Kaizen." This is a Japanese word which actually means "good change" but evolved to mean "continuous improvement" because of lack of an existing word in their language to describe this, and because of large Japanese business companies adopting "Kaizen" as a business model for continuous improvement. It is such a good philosophy for life. We don't need to go from 0 to perfect in 3.5 seconds. We're not cars! :P Whether it be weight loss, a career, school, giving up bad habits (coffee, cigarettes, junk food, etc)... continuous improvement is the key. Maybe you go a step back, but if you go two steps forward then that is progress. However, if you focus on the step back then you prevent yourself from going the two steps forward, and I think that's the most challenging part of life. But that's how success is defined - by how well you deal with life's setbacks.

I'm always practising new techniques and different ways I can photograph the world. I am always looking to learn and grow in not just photography, but everything. I really love photography because I love to make people happy. Happiness is like sunshine - bright, beautiful, and it makes the world a better place. For many years now I have been making people happy with my photography. As time went on, the amount of good shots I would produce and the amount of satisfaction people had with my photographs both increased steadily until it got to a point where everyone in my life was saying I should photograph people... so I decided to give it a go.

Now I am in a unique position where I am working part time so I have the opportunity to learn more about photography. Life is kind of funny.... for the past couple years I've had the ability to afford photography equipment but not the time to develop my photography knowledge, and now I have the time to develop my photography knowledge but not the ability to afford equipment. I find it much better to have the time instead of the money. Equipment is pretty useless if you don't have the time to figure out how to use it.

Excited to photograph this girl next weekend:


You may recognise her as Mary Beth. She has the most beautiful eyes, doesn't she? So big and beautiful! We're doing a vintage shoot... I am excited!
 
 
You can see more pictures of her here from a portrait session last year.

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