You Must Have a Really Nice…

One of my Dad’s favorite things to hear about his photos is, “Wow your photos are really nice, you must have a really nice camera.” This is the equivalent of me telling my dad when I was 5 that I could run faster because of my new shoes (I used to say that all the time). My Father and my Wife are both quick to remind me that photography is not about the camera, but the vision of the person behind it.

Don’t get me wrong, I love technology, and if I win the lottery tonight, I will have the nicest camera money can buy, but no camera by itself will take better pictures. It starts with you. With your vision. With your ideas.

Since the beginning of time, every great creation since the world began is the result of a person, someone with an idea, someone who wanted to push the limits, someone who wanted to create something that didn’t exist. From something as simple as the wheel to something as cool as an iPad, it all starts with a person’s idea.

As we start another year, stop for a minute and take some time to think about what we have today that we didn’t have a year ago. What did you personally create in 2010 and what would you like to create in 2011. Once you know what you want to create, start working on it, today, not tomorrow. Write it down, make a list, put in a document, post it on your facebook, put in writing what you want to accomplish, then, one year from today you can evaluate it.

For me, I have committed to posting one photo a day that was taken and edited that day. I am forcing myself to look for new photos to take and to learn my camera, flashes and other equipment in an attempt to get better at photography. My wife and I also plan to move forward with a part-time photography business in 2011. So what better time than the start of a New Year to stop talking and start creating. What do you want to create in 2011, feel free to write it on my blog if you want, and we can both check back one year from today and see how we did.

JakeDaddy