Don’t stop with awesome, keep going.
I learned a lot at FEEcon this past weekend, and although I won’t be able to repeat all of it, here are some more thoughts.
One of my favorite speakers was Dewitt Jones, a National Geographic photographer who did his first film project at 23 and has traveled the globe grabbing wonderful shots and learning about his skills along the way. See his website here: https://dewittjones.com/ (all quotes in this post are from Jones’) I want to share some of what he shared during his keynote presentation and add some of my own analysis.
“Don’t be competitive with anyone else, you have your own set of skills.” (paraphrased). Understand that everyone is different, every photographer, economist, chef, and marketer, that’s why the world is so diverse and interesting. To paraphrase Dewitt’s words: Mother nature never said, “in this whole forest there is not just one good shot that one photographer will get and the rest of you are suckers.
“Have a vision: your own private bumper sticker. Have a clear vision.” I would add to this, be open. Understand that you can and should have goals, but there could also be something better in store that is beyond or hidden amongst your other goals.
“How many rolls of film you got Dewitt?” Jones mentioned this inner thought he had as if “mother nature” was talking to him, it was to show that that the world always has more to offer if you go looking in pursuit of beauty and go about it with kindness. He told stories of going to remote places and visiting people and listening to them describe their passions.
Another paraphrase of Dewitt words: Don’t stop with awesome, keep going. – As a photographer, he would get great shots but a moment of patience led to another, better one. If he had stopped searching in some cases he would’ve missed out on some of the best shots of his life.
The one follow up question that I would love to ask Dewitt would be, what value have photo editing tools, and apps brought to your career over time? That is to say, as technology has progressed, has he ever thought his photos were complete but then adjusted an image and made it even better?
Someday I’ll buy a nice camera, even just to have fun with it; but for now, me and my iDevices will continue to look for wonderful moments and seize the shots we see in the world.
