I read some inspiring paragraphs recently in a post by Joe McNally, who often has quite a few stories to tell in the adventures and trials of being a pro photographer for some of the big names out there. . It is long post that covers a lot of ground, so I may not be doing it justice by simply quoting the last bits (you may want to read it in its entirety here.). But I found the end to be quite universal in how many of us photographers feel about what we do.
We are out there, in the air, in the world. We don ™t go to a cubicle farm everyday and stair at dismaying numbers on a screen. We make pictures. At the end of the day, we create something potentially significant that did not exist at the beginning of the day. We go forward, despite the uncertainty. Because this is an act of love and passion, which defies reason and prudence.
And we make that occasional good frame, the one that sings, the one that lifts our hearts and the hearts of everyone who sees it. That well and truly is as good as it gets. – Joe McNally Sept23, 2008
For pros and amateurs alike, I think it sums up why we get up so early, endure uncomfortable situations, and sometimes go home empty handed only to repeat the effort the next day. . Sometimes we accept that the pursuit is enough to be satisfied with. But boy don’t we love it when that singing good frame happens. We can’t deny the gratification that happens if someone else happens to like it too . . Of course, the bad days happen also – and sometimes therapy is a simple wander through images of the past. . Such is the case with the “Mute Swans in Moonlight” image here, taken more than a year ago on a dead still, tranquil morning. . It helps to bring up images of these times when we may be feeling not at our best.
Joe’s words stay in my head as a reminder when Mondays come around, and I approach that very cubical farm he refers to. . An occupation of time that may pay the bills, help with some gear, but I doubt I could ever say those last couple of sentances about it.
Great quotes. Thanks for sharing them. And, fabulous image!!
Hey Mark,
I think ALWAYS the pursuit, the process is enough. If it isn’t we’re out of focus. We go through life to live, not to produce. Production is all, by definition, by-product. Even when it’s 30 below and the fingers freezing off. 🙂
Cheers
Carl
Thank you for touching on this subject. You always get right to the heart of these matters. While I don’t toil in a cubicle farm, I understand the pursuit. At my level, it’s just reaching eagerly for little bits of growth and welcome glimmers of understanding, but it has its bad days and the periodic gratification. The posted image is one of those that will inspire me to keep working.
Such a cool image, and I dont mean just it’s tonal qualities. I like the quote by Joe McNally. It’s interesting how we comfort our fears about our creativity with previous work we feel was successful. There is nothing like making a new image that really excites our inner being though.
Very nice image, I agree that it touches something fundamental.
As I’m a novice returning to photography after 25 years of so (last time I was putting a significant effort to it was in my teens), I don’t have that kind of images to fall back to.
But there is hope in the inevitable progress if you just keep on trying.
Many of my mornings start out with photography before I head out to my cubicle farm (actually, I’m lucky, my work environment is a lot nicer than that). After a successful morning, it’s a pretty nice feeling to bring in, whether the success is just seeing something new or a good image.