Closing the Gap

I've been thinking a lot about my love for photography and what I want it to convey. There has just been one minor problem- my pesky inner perfectionist, who is quite judgmental! : ) Anyone who reads my posts on occasion knows this is a frequent unwanted bag I lug around. But when I take that heavy load off my shoulders, I feel a freedom in my work that I can't obtain any other way!

Enter an insightful post from Shutter Sisters about being your own creative director and developing a voice and vision in your photography. After reading it, I realized that wrecklessly pursuing these elements means parting ways (permanently!) with my perfectionist tendencies . That nagging, judgmental voice does nothing but put a chokehold on my creativity; that's where I AM.

So this is what I did for "Project 52". I've been following The Deming Photography Club's weekly subject challenges for motivation and Week Four's subject was "Circles". I heard a sweetly sublime chatter, reminding me of a photo idea I had some time ago. So I set everything up and started messing with the settings on my camera.

But only a few moments in, frustration invaded and that annoyingly naggy perfectionist tempted me to quit. After all, I wasn't able to capture the vision I saw in my head, so what was the point of continuing to try? I put my camera down and went on to other more pressing domestic goddess chores like changing diapers and folding clothes, all the while humming tunes from Baby Einstein. : )

And there it was again. My inner divinity urging me to TRY again. So I changed locations, opened up to I Corinthians 13 (which was read at our wedding), and clicked away.


This was my favorite photo of the seemingly three million I took! By listening to my "voice", I found my vision: emotion. I don't want others to look at my photos and say, "That's nice." No, that simply won't do. I want them to feel something. That's where I want TO BE.