my whole life, i’ve struggled with finding a balance between my strong work ethic, which tends to turn my into a bit of a bull head, and having the patience to work effectively toward a result that is worth achieving. i aspire to achieve this balance in all aspects of my life, but as with most things, the evidence that i still have some work to do is particularly apparent when i review my photography portfolio.
occasionally when i’m running edits, i will find that i’ve almost achieved perfection, only to have missed it by a breath because i didnt take that extra fraction of a second to make sure my focus was perfect, my composition was well-framed or my trigger pull was in line with my breath. or maybe all of those elements were correct, but i didnt maintain them long enough to catch the subject of my photo at the moment when they were finally ready for me.
this makes me wonder how often i’ve missed out on a good thing because i haven’t been patient enough to recognize when it’s right in front of me. how many times have i been a single breathe out of sync with the universe? and how many times have i allowed myself to believe that some external influence was the reason i missed out on something i could’ve achieved with a touch more focus or patience?
i am beginning to understand that photography has become about more than photography for me; it has morphed into a sort of compass on my personal quest for self-mastery. through photography, all of my flaws and strengths are laid bare, and i can examine the results of my state of mind, my adherence to my own principals, and my ability to mix control with acceptance pixel by pixel. i’m grateful for this realization, and for the gift of learning and progress that i’ve been given as a result.