First thought. Have you ever noticed that when you ask a photographer what it is they do, they simply tell you, I am a photographer? Then as you continue to speak to said photographer you will hear all about how passionate they are about photography. I even see this in people’s Bios on some pretty shitty websites. Now my site may not be great but it communicates, and that is the goal.
However to get to my point, I just about have come to a point in which I would like to slap the back of people’s heads every time I hear “I am a passionate photographer.” Now this is simply a personal take but I get it. Yeah you enjoy photography, but stating you are passionate about it? This trend started about 10 years ago and marketing experts suggested to anyone who would listen, you have to define yourself and state what your passion is. So without really putting thought into this, many photographers just simply went with this suggestion, and you see it all over the internet. I am sorry, but this is such a load of hogwash.
Once again my opinion, but I have also been more of a visual guy vs. the spoken word. Yes, it is action that speaks louder that words, and let me go on record here. Stating you are a passionate photographer and then producing images that suck is not a very good indicator of passion or a skill set. I also see all this let me help you create a profit from your passion. Trust me, the only ones that profit in that industry is the ones who are trying to sell you an ideology of how to operate a photography business. There are practices, but the thought that saturated markets can be stood out in is possible, but in the end, running a successful business as a photographer is going to come down to two things. 1. The quality of your work. 2. Your personality.
On a local platform I have a friend in this business and the talent is incredible. We share a common interest and it is nice to know that backs are covered. However both of us have had to deal with the passionate photographer and let me define that passion. OK, the work is standard at best, but the practice and the personality is what I just flushed. Look you cant bully people into accepting your services. Stating that this person sucks or this person is a jerk is a bad look. On top of that, attacks on social pages is just a low blow, and it kind of defines who the hell you really are. I have had to deal with that, and believe me, I am not one to take crap from a person that I would consider to be a me too type of person. Then of coarse we have the friends and family. Oh that guy just retorted, so lets leave crappy reviews and hurt this persons business. You know what? I am so over that. That is our standard everyday Passionate Photographer. SLAP RIGHT ON THE BACK OF THE HEAD!
Look sometimes you nail the shoot and sometimes you produce nice images. Once in a while you blow it. I know one thing, this art is a journey and every time you press the shutter, you need to learn something. Photography is truly an exploration of light, and what excites me is the next adventure.
So with my opinion in place here and knowing this is like two minutes of your life that you will never get back, if you read it, I wanna show you how I define passion.
This is the super moon of 2016. I read all the hype and news stories leading up to the event, but over the years I have been displeased with super moons of the past. However I read one story that stated we would not see a moon this big again for several years. I was hooked. When the moon came up, it was like a 50/50 shot. Lots of clouds and as I stood out there with hope freezing my ass off, The moon peaked, over the horizon. As I watched the whole thing fell apart as the clouds just swallowed the view. Trust me, some real colorful metaphors came into play. However the event wasn’t just isolated to the evening hours. I knew I may get a second change in the early am. Up early and out the door, I did what came natural to me. Set up watch, wait do my research and at one moment, I set off the exposure. One shot.
SUPERMOON2016 – Two World Wonders Meet
After post process, it hit me. I said to myself, ” Mike you big dummy, you just shoot the meeting of two wonders of the world.” Niagara Falls, New York, just meet the Super moon of 2016. Once again and in closing, we can all say how passionate we are about something, but saying it, and showing it are two different things. I prefer to be passionate about my wife and children and see photography for what it is. Moments captured forever in the ultimate exploration of light.
Shutter bang. THAT’S A WRAP.
Sarg.
Please leave your thoughts and comments on this post. I do read them, and like to hear the various opinions on the topics I write about. Oh for the record, I know I am a jerk, that comment is stating only the obvious.
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