Lessons Learned

We live in a society with a misconception that either you are born with artistic talent or you are not, and if you are not then you have no hope of being an artist. All of us are born with inherent strengths and challenges, and we most likely naturally tend towards our strengths. However, anyone can pursue any endeavour it just takes time and extra effort on your part. I remember I was very offended a couple of years ago. When I was just starting out in photography my wife gave me “John Shaw’s Nature Photography Field Guide” as a gift. I thought I had a ‘good eye’ already and I wondered - Can’t she see my natural ability? Can’t she recognize my talent? Years down the road I’m glad that I swallowed my pride back then and actually opened the book. Shortly after I have purchased and read many books on photography, written by great instructors and photographers such as Scott Kelby, David DuChemin, Steve Simon, Chris Orwig and many others. If I have improved at all during my photographic journey I owe it all to reading dozens of books on photography, shooting (constantly) tens of thousands of photos, and looking at millions of great photographs. Getting better takes time and learning. If it were easy it would not be worth it. Jay Maisel once said that your first 10,000 photographs are your worst. Malcolm Gladwell popularized the term “the 10,000 hour rule” that refers to putting 10,000 hours into your craft to be a standout or outlier in your field. So don’t wait up, pick up a photography book in a book store or your local library, read it and take tons of photos. Thank goodness we live in a time where so much knowledge is readily available and most of it is free.