In my case, I like the occasional finding, the unplanned stuff, the surprise. Serendipity. Put on the words of Ansel Adams: “Sometimes I arrive just when God's ready to have someone click the shutter.” We've plenty of folks looking for perfection in social media. A lot of artificially planned beauty - or "beauty". You wrote a great deep post on the topic. Loved your line: "Something shifts when I walk with one camera, one lens, and nothing to prove." Yep, and sometimes one only walks with the phone. There is nothing to prove if one works hard to kill the ego.
Man, I really appreciate this. That Ansel Adams quote—“just when God’s ready”—nails it for me. I here all this talk about making versus taking images. Yes, skill matters but I find that many of my favorite images feel more like being there ready to receive. We just have to be there.
What you said about the ego—yeah. It’s a constant wrestle. Even when I think I’ve let go, it finds a new way in. Thoughts about who might like something or not, comparisons, or even just wanting to be seen a certain way. But when I leave all that behind and focus on just being present with the camera —or just the phone—and move without an agenda, the world opens up again.
Thanks for taking the time to read and respond with this kind of honesty. It really means a lot.
In my case, I like the occasional finding, the unplanned stuff, the surprise. Serendipity. Put on the words of Ansel Adams: “Sometimes I arrive just when God's ready to have someone click the shutter.” We've plenty of folks looking for perfection in social media. A lot of artificially planned beauty - or "beauty". You wrote a great deep post on the topic. Loved your line: "Something shifts when I walk with one camera, one lens, and nothing to prove." Yep, and sometimes one only walks with the phone. There is nothing to prove if one works hard to kill the ego.
Man, I really appreciate this. That Ansel Adams quote—“just when God’s ready”—nails it for me. I here all this talk about making versus taking images. Yes, skill matters but I find that many of my favorite images feel more like being there ready to receive. We just have to be there.
What you said about the ego—yeah. It’s a constant wrestle. Even when I think I’ve let go, it finds a new way in. Thoughts about who might like something or not, comparisons, or even just wanting to be seen a certain way. But when I leave all that behind and focus on just being present with the camera —or just the phone—and move without an agenda, the world opens up again.
Thanks for taking the time to read and respond with this kind of honesty. It really means a lot.