Chasing Vision

I check half a dozen or so blogs a day, written by photographers about photography.  Sometimes I read them slowly, sometimes I skim them quickly, looking for something that catches my eye.  Often I pause for a moment and look closely at a photograph, mostly to think about the composition, to think about what made me stop and look closer in the first place.

Occasionally I read a blog post that really makes me think.  Early this week, I read one that made me think.  And think again.  Then, I went back and read it a second time, which I don’t recall doing before.  The post was about chasing a photo, trying to replicate what someone else had done, being disappointed when confronted with reality, and making the decision to be true to your own ideals (you can read the post here http://www.moosepeterson.com/blog/2013/02/05/28856/).

I’ve been guilty of this.  I'm still guilty of this.  Gear envy.  Talent envy.  Vision envy. 

When I bought my first DSLR I immediately bought a zoom lens because I thought I needed it (and which I used a lot).  Then I bought another lens, and another lens.  Then I bought some lens filters.  Then I didn’t use the other lens because I didn’t need them, and found out that I didn’t need the filters I bought either (with the exception of the polarizer).  I sold the lens, and the filters still sit in my camera bag, collecting dust. 

I came to realize, slowly, that I needed to learn to use what I have before I should think about accumulating more equipment.  I learned that I needed to develop my own eye, my own vision, and stop trying to see what others see.  I learned that I needed to please myself...

Nikon D40, Nikkor 55-300 DX VR