Two years ago I began taking up photography as a hobby. After taking photography in school, I continued loving the art of photography afterward, and I find myself to be very passionate about it. Outside of snapping pictures, and capturing moments in life, I've learned a few things about myself and the outside world because of my love for photography.
Accidental Lesson #1: Finding the edge of beauty
After starting up photography, I have realized there are many things one wouldn't assume to be beautiful, or even interesting. However, I have realized these things are the greatest to take pictures of. To take an uncommon object, or a place and make it worth looking at. To make someone stop and look at something they once wouldn't pay attention to, that is something that I've learned. Beauty isn't just an apperance of soomething attractive, or a person with the perfect features and just the right amount of make up. Beauty is something that can change in each person's eyes, everyone looks at the same objects, people, scences differently. So in all honesty there isn't one depiction of beauty, because essentially it's everywhere.
Accidental Lesson #2: Looking at things in depth
I also have noticed that everything should be looked at in more than one way. A photographer I know of takes his subjects, and asks them for their life story, asks them about what makes them who they are, then he takes their picture. However, the difference is that the pictures contain objects or backdrops that apply to the identity of the person. Photography's purpose is to capture the inside of someone, or an idea, or to freeze a moment in time because of it's importance. After hearing that I realized myself that I could be paying more attention to my subjects, getting more out of the photo than just getting a shot. I could piece together stories if I took more time studying what I'm shooting. I feel that all I do is take a shot and move on, instead of actually paying attention to my surroundings. I feel that if I study my surroundings more, I'd be able to take better pictures, and get more emotion out of them.
Accidental Lesson #3: My Future
After many prints, and many days of developing. I realized that this hobby became more of a passion for me. I have almost made it a necessity to study photography in college. Although I want to Major in Psychology, I would always love to continue with photography onward. There's always more to learn, more models of cameras. I feel that there is always more room to grow. I have more that I can accomplish, more subjects for me to shoot, more places for me to travel for a variety of shots in different areas. I can't promise that I will for a fact, study photography in my future, however I do feel that as much time I spend on it, and how important I view it. I can always get better, and learn more. I will not stop.
Accidental Lesson #4: Your mind is a blank slate
I've also learned to never assume something will turn out the way you expect it to, or the way you want it for that matter. I will see something, and in my mind I think "This will be an epic shot". Then I go to take the shot, and when I develop it, it'll come out crappy. But I don't beat myself up (well most of the time atleast). It's a great hobby, but sometimes you never know what you're gonna get. I've had a good amount of rolls of film not develop because they've been exposed to light, some how. I then temporarily get angry, and then move on. Even if I have the best shots I've ever taken, I tell myself that there's always a better shot that I can find. I have realized that photography has taught me the idea of Tabula Rosa which states that the mind is a blank slate in which experience writes upon. My experiences while shooting pictures have taught me to move on. Although we sometimes anticipate things to end up a certain way, and for the most part they don't. It's all a learning experience, and it's up to you to either embrace it or go through life being disappointed.
Accidental Lesson #5: The ability to smile
Never set unatainable goals. We have to take the time to smile at our mistakes and move on. We as humans have the ability to constantly grow, and change, and allow life to shape us. But if we spend our lives unhappy, because we can't reach our potential, because we're too busy trying to be something we aren't, it'll all become a waist. Sometimes, we have to just sit back, look at what we've done, and smile. Know, that everything we've done so far hasn't been a waist of time, or truly unimportant. If something makes you happy, even if it isn't perfection, or it isn't on the same level of someone else. You have to appreciate yourself. People can only learn to appreciate you, and what you can do, if you try to keep yourself happy. What I'm trying to say is, take a step back, look at what you've accomplished, and allow yourself to be happy. I look back at my past photos and film, and look at my work now, and I have grown so much. At first I'd beat myself up because other people would take better pictures, or their pictures seemed so much better than my own. I realize that it isn't because their pictures were better than mine, it was because I wasn't appreciating my own work, and how I'd began growing. It's all a process of constant growth, we just have to know that sometimes we should reflect on this growth, in order to keep on the path.
