A good photograph is knowing where to stand.
Ansel Adams
There is nothing more uplifting than a good photograph.
There are so many cameras everywhere and everyone has the in their pocket. Technologically speaking they are all superior to the equipment Ansel Adams used to make is beautiful black and white landscapes. They are technologically superior but they are only tools, it is still the human eye and the human heart that make things happen.
The most important variable in your life is you. It has always been you and it will always be you. No matter how you feel or what you think of yourself, you are a uniquely beautiful person and only you are capable of knowing where to stand. And stand you must, because only you were granted the power of vision. Yes, we all have it, but we don’t have yours. We cannot see what you see. We will never know what you feel, think, and desire, unless you show us. Like a good photograph, you need to capture who you are and display it for everyone to see.
It depends on where you stand but also depends when you stand. The time of day matters. Photographers rise early in the morning and stay out late to catch the beautiful colours that only reveal themselves at sunrise and at sunset. The same is true for you. Where you stand and when you stand are very important. Time is of the essence. No matter how unperfected, or flawed, or unfinished something feels, you need to take a snap shot and print it. Print it. Put a border around it, mount it in a nice frame and hang it on a wall. If your effort is not good enough, you get to do it again. Go out, stand somewhere else, take more pictures, and replace the images in the frame. Do this for yourself and do this for all of us.
With so many cameras everywhere is astounding that we are not blessed with any more art. We are drowning with selfies and shots of your steak dinner, but the world is not blessed with more art. That’s because art comes from inside the soul. It is meant to emerge from the human heart. It has to be released from the human mind.
Your mind, your heart, your soul. It’s where you stand that matters. It’s having the courage to release the shutter that matters. It’s the effort to edit, print, and display that makes a difference. It’s what makes a great photograph and it is what will make for a good life.
Go and explore new and better places to stand. Go and revisit places where you once stood or desire to stand on again. Harness the art of possibility that lives deep within you. A possibility that has perhaps laid dormant for too long. Discover where you to stand and take the picture.
