A Photographer's New Year's Resolution
I don't do New Year's resolutions. Never have. I always believed that if you were passionate about change and willing to take a hard look at yourself, you wouldn't need the expiration of a calendar to set the kind of goal to facilitate any necessary change. That being said, my stance had changed quite a bit this year.. after all, any reminder to reassess your goals is worth consideration.
I am determined to become a true student of light, in all forms. I hope to become a proficient strobist. Radio triggers and various light modifiers are in my immediate future. I have a strong desire to gain an intimate understanding of color temperatures, specifically light sources and their corresponding Kelvin value, as well as gelled flashguns and all of the creative flexibly that comes with it.
I will shoot less, but more frequently. I will stop and think about my photos before cycling the shutter. I will show up early to shoots and give myself a moment of silence to consider lighting - ambient and imposed - as well as the mood, story, and vision that I am attempting to capture.
It has become very clear that I want to do this for a living. I have never been so passionate about any of my previous artistic endeavors. I will educate myself on the business aspects of the art, and take steps toward becoming the "Vision Monger" that +David duChemin so bluntly wrote about. (If you have any ideas in your head about becoming a working pro, read this book.)
Often New Year's resolutions are about quitting bad habits, about taking steps towards a better -shinier- you, and very rarely is it made a goal to continue what is working, what is already shaping you into the mold of an admirable human being. As always, I am more aware of my surroundings. I slow down and take notice of the world around me. My sense of just how brutally awesome the world is has become amplified. This I will continue to cultivate, of that I am resolute.
This picture is of my youngest daughter, one of my daily reminders of just how good I have it.
IMG_4761 by RVier199, on Flickr
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