Home-grown
As most of my great thoughts do, this one occurred to me on my morning walk the other day. And as with most of my great thoughts, I should have pounced on it then. But I’ll try to get my inspiration back. Strolling down a beautiful path, crunching golden leaves under my tennis-shoed feet, this flashed thru my soon-to-be-no-longer-blonde head: I am the Rachel Ray of photography.
Seriously. I love that analogy. And that’s not to say I’m anywhere near her level of talent or bankability or cuteness - and certainly not perkiness. But metaphorically speaking we’re the same. She is the first to describe herself as a “cook” not a “chef.” Her education has all been on-the-job experience, much of what she knows and what she does is self-taught.
I can relate.
I am a cook, not a chef. Any photography or art classes I have taken were so long ago they are totally irrelevant in today’s high tech world. I shoot from the gut. I shoot from the heart. I shoot totally emotionally. Sometimes I remember to frame a shot. Sometimes I take a creative angle. I don’t have degrees or initials after my name, but I’m learning. Most of what I do is self-taught and always a work in progress. I’ve picked up great hints and ideas and support from fellow photogs, but that’s all online, never in person.
So I’m kind of home-grown I guess. My kind of photography almost forces me to be in the moment and react to the moment (although sometimes I don’t realize until I get back home and review what I’ve shot). Which explains exactly why I like to be alone when I shoot. Because I have to just BE.
I spent a long time feeling very intimidated by other photographers. I felt extremely inadequate. I was very, very cautious about sharing my work because I had no education, no formal training. I'm technically retarded. Until I realized one day that anyone who picks up a camera every single day of their life is learning something and accomplishing something that just might be good. Because if I am doing something every day of my life and I’m not getting better, I need to find a new obsession.
And in the end, the only real judge of me should be me.
I’m a cook, not a chef. And I’m ok with that.
posted by Cindi @ 3:27 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I so love this piece!!! It's just how I feel about my own photography... or writing... or sketching... or.... Wonderful, encouraging analogy!!! And I do enjoy your photography and writing because it IS from the heart, and you can tell it. I've always described my own shooting as 'what my heart's eye sees'. We're kindred spirits in that way, which we've discussed before. And, like you, if I don't write it while it's in my heart, who knows when it will pass that way again!!!
Yes. You are whatever you say you are.
I take snapshots. Don't discount the snapshot. Ansel Adams didn't.
"The snapshot is not as simple a statement as some believe. It represents something that each of us has seen—more as human beings than photographers—and wants to keep as a memento, a special thing remembered...."
That is what I take. A snapshot. Sometimes, that snapshot has a bit more time involved and the image evolves from that realm but mostly, I document what I see and feel during the course of my day. Does this make me a photographer or a picture taker?
You, my dear, are extraordinary with your vision.
thank you shir, skip and b.
b - very insightful, as always. i appreciate your point of view -- and your kind words. :D
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