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It's About Passion
August 2009
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Take Better Photographs Today!
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Dear :
Hello! I trust you are having a great summer. This heat keeps me mostly indoors, which is making me a little crazy. We are fast approaching the time when our baby starts Kindergarten. I have mixed emotions about it but know he is ready for it and that he will love school (at least at first), so this will help.
This month's article is about why I love photography so much. I hope it inspires you to find something you are passionate about, photography or something else.
Have a great August!
Dawn Attebery
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It's About Passion
I was preparing for a radio interview and I was to supply
the questions. (Is this a secret? I don't know if it is or not but I guess the
cat's out of the bag now.) This
preparation was done on a road trip in which, of course, I was the
passenger. How I got work done with a
van full of kids, I don't know, but I did it.
I wrote out some questions to get the main points across but I wanted
the first question to really grab the listeners. Here's what I came up with: Why do you love photography?
This may be an obvious question to ask a photographer but I
must say it is more difficult to answer than I thought it would be. I recently read a great book called The
Element: How Finding Your Passion
Changes Everything after hearing one of the authors, Ken Robinson, on a KERA
radio interview. I wish this book had
been around a few years ago when I was getting started in this business. Robinson defined The Element as "... the
meeting point between natural aptitude and personal passion." He states,
"One of the key principles of the Element is that we need to challenge
what we take for granted about our abilities and the abilities of other
people." I couldn't agree more.
As many of you know, I have math degrees and was a software
engineer for over a decade. Though I
used to do a lot of crafts, I never considered myself creative. One of the greatest gifts my husband has
given me is that he always believed I am creative and has supported me in finding how
that could manifest itself in my life. I
will be forever grateful to him for that.
He gave me an SLR on one of our first anniversaries and that paved the
way for my career in photography. I
always thought you had to draw or paint or sculpt or sing or act to be an
artist. My singing is limited to the car
(except once-in-a-while karaoke) and my painting to the walls of our house.
So what do I love about photography? I love the little machine that can capture
what I want it to capture, with all its custom settings and all those great
lenses. I love how I get into the zone
when I take pictures and I don't notice the time, whether my legs hurt, whether
mosquitos are biting me or how much I'm sweating. The interaction with people I'm photographing
is one of the great joys in my life. For
some of the work I do, I love the control I have over the final product, from
arranging the subjects to the final photoshop work. (Of course, for scenic and landscape
photography, you can't move your subjects but you can move yourself!) The integration of the technical and creative
makes photography a perfect medium for me as an artist. Though I never enjoyed reading technical
manuals about writing software, I love reading about lighting, composition, and
color.
I used to think I was terrible when put on the spot. With photography, that is my job and I enjoy
the challenge of solving problems in a short amount of time. My photography is ever-evolving. Though I learned the basics and those do not
change, my vision changes over time and the possibilities are limitless.
The number one reason, though, that I love photography is
that when I am taking photographs, I am the truest, best part of who I really
am. No anxiety, no thinking about the
past or worrying about the future. If I
sing, it's because I am moved to sing.
Everything comes from a place of joy.
Wish I could always be like I am when I am taking pictures.
As I sit here and think about all this, I get a little
teary-eyed and am filled with gratitude for eyes that can see, for my software
background that makes it easy to learn the new technology, for a brain that can
do technical and creative stuff, for the joy I feel when being with people, for my husband who has supported me every step of the way, for
the wonderful mentors I've had, and for finding my passion. It is my sincere wish that every one of you
finds that passion in your life if you haven't already. Find your special gift that fills you with
energy and joy and that makes you who you are.
And then tell me about it. I'd
love to hear your stories.
Dawn
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