focus
Love this post by CJ Chilvers over on his site- A Lesser Photographer
If you have an obsession, don't seek permission from others to publish your views. Own your content, stop sharecropping on someone else's platform and get your stories out there.
You might be thinking, "But Dan, you post on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Flickr and Twitter." That is certainly true and I value the communities and interaction on each, but make no mistake - this is the canonical home for my work.
I've posted quite a few coffee related images and usually they are of a more home brewed or local variety. You probably recognize this as a Starbucks cup. I'm an equal opportunity coffee drinker. The best beans ground at home daily with nothing added and the occasional sugar and carmel saturated espresso drink when I'm in the mood. Caramel Macchiato is my favorite at Starbucks and yes, I know it isn't really a Macchiato.
Mine | 365 Project | March 16th, 2013 | 35mm, f/1.8, ISO 100, 1/40
Wheels | 365 Project | March 4th, 2013 | 35mm, f/1.8, 1/60, ISO 100
Denver Streets. For me, this image captures exactly how it felt the afternoon that we left.
Slush | 365 Project | Feb 21st, 201
I just read a fantasitc article this morning by Lee Morris on FStoppers. The article is called The Photographers You Idolize are No Better Than You
Though the article is set in the context of Photography, I think much of it is applicable on a much broader level.
Here is my favorite part-
Successful people are “Do’ers.” By that I mean successful people accomplish things. In many cases it doesn’t even matter what they do, they just have to do something, anything, over and over again. “Talented” people take initiative to do, create, or start something. The average person doesn’t actually do anything themselves; they go to work, they do what they are told, and then they come home and watch tv and get ready for the next day of work. Successful people see a problem and then fix it. They have an idea and they create something. Think about the people that you look up to in your life. You probably admire them because they have done something unique or different or they do something specific very well.
The average person is a talker. They claim to be smart, they claim to be talented and they claim to have great ideas. But they also always have an excuse about why they aren’t doing anything...These same people are the ones that will sit back and look at other people who are doing things and talk bad about them or their projects...The truth is, successful people don’t have enough time to hate on other people because they are too busy doing things- like making money.
Long quoted section there, but I was especially struck by it. I so badly want to be the person in the first paragraph, and not the person in the second. Too often in my life, the roles are reversed.
I want it in all areas. Work, Photography and more important ones like Husband, Father and Friend.
This is a bit of a response to my friend Nish's post Smooth me out, Soften me up. Let me first say that this post is a great example of why I love her writing. More than that, she is a really great person.
This post. Wow.
This idea of being reshaped and having rough edges smoothed-out has been a recurring theme in my life for nearly half of my 37 years. The first really clear awareness is from sometime in college. I was probably around 20 and I was the student director for a campus ministry group called Campus Crusade for Christ. I had sort of inherited the role when the previous director stepped down and then the next guy in line rather abruptly left campus to get married.
I don't think I had any sort of real qualification to be doing any of this, but there I was. I had been leading our team for a year or so when a staff advisor that we borrowed from Oregon State University just down the road said something to me. He said that as a leader, I was like a bulldozer. He said it was clear that I usually had a very firm idea about where we were going and that my default method for dealing with things was to push any and all obstacles (usually people) out of the way.
I can't tell you how true that metaphor has proven over the last 17 years.
That conversation was really hard for me. No one likes to be told that they push people around. Seems like a pretty loose definition of "bully" when you think about it.
My wife says I can almost always find a way to make something happen if I really want it. She doesn't mean it as a compliment.
I think it's important to know that I don't blindly push towards stubborn ideas. I rarely make big decisions without considering quite a few possible outcomes. Usually, this means I've mentally been through a few failure scenarios already and have constructed a vision that seems likely to succeed. I try to think through these things so I don't have to fail as much in real life. Because of this, I usually feel like I've got a good handle on "the right way" to do something pretty early on, and am not as receptive to different strategies or ideas.
Being a husband and a father challenges this on so many levels. While there is still great room for me to be a forward thinker and a planner, there often isn't a lot of time or space to wait until ideas are complete and vetted. In addition, my wife has great insight - often times much better than mine. Not listening to her opinion can prove quite problematic. Also, my kids often don't care if they are doing things "the right way".
The rest of life is like that too. Coworkers, employees, clients, friends, acquaintances- None of them like it when you ignore their ideas. I've head-learned so many great things about making sure people know they are more important than your plans and ideas, but it is still so hard to consistently follow through.
If Nish feels like a cheese grater, then I often feel like a giant yellow Bulldozer.
But I'm pretty sure there's hope.
All those years ago I was obliviously just pushing stuff around and rolling right over the top of anything that wouldn't be pushed. Throughout the years I've learned to use a broader arsenal of tools and to push with the bulldozer only when it really makes sense.
I'm hopeful that my inclination to focus on vision can keep being refined into a beautiful character trait that serves God, my family and our world without a lot of collateral damage.
