By any other name

1/500s
F/8
ISO 200
200mm

I am reminded of a picture I read a while back, I don't know who or where it came from but it stuck in my head.  It's a single image of a large box of McDonald's fries, the caption underneath read "Not Everyone Grows Up To Be An Astronaut." Trust me it gave me a good laugh for a few days.  Now I write this and wonder am I the astronaut or the guy making fries and I don't know.  I would like to believe favorably but there is always that voice of doubt in the background berating me with negativity and the sad thing is the voice is starting to sound like my mother...  However I try to stay positive even when it seems like there's nothing left to be positive about. (trust me even if you don't see, it's there) My dream might take me ten to twenty years to achieve but I'm not really worried about the time because it takes time and hard work to be where I want.  Someone asked me what do I want to get out of this blog and I had to be honest and say notoriety an outlet to get my art work into the public eye.  Along with my pictures I try to write a little story to go along with it, unfortunately it does not work all the time but I do try.  I have had some individuals not like what I put out but what can I say "haters gonna hate."  I'm not a great writer and I don't think I'll ever be an Oscar Wild or Hemingway, I'll be OK with that because I'm a photographer I love recording history capturing moments in time every time I bring the lens to focus.  I have what it takes to see it through to the end and with my family, friends and readers this is going to be a fun journey.  Cue music that's fitting... 

The Road less traveled

The voice of negativity can and will get the better of us if you don't keep it in check. I have had to deal with this demon for sometime and I have learned to tune him out but he is never gone. He is there whispering, lies and doubt, to make us forget why we started on this task and keep us from our dreams. I have done some reading on the subject and have learned of a young marathon runner that has the same problem Kara Goucher.

""I have a lot of negative chatter in my head," Goucher tells me in a recent interview. "If I don't rein it in, my mind will tend to obsess about what everyone else is doing in the race around me. I'll start comparing myself to everyone else." When she does that, she says, she saps the strength from her own legs. She morphs from great into okay. When she can block out the critical self-talk, she runs like a champion.
Goucher's struggle exemplifies a hidden challenge that every distance runner faces: the wrestling match with the mind."

A truly great story I suggest you give it a read.  Please read all of it

I found this old post I did some time ago and I wanted to share it with you tonight. I like looking at my old writing and finding treasures like this. I often ask myself what motivated me to think this way or what emotions was I feeling at that moment. This piece is called the Road less traveled and, I see the negativity monster coming out and and trying to discourage me from doing something I really love.  The writing is a little raw and all over the place but its who I was at that moment... "unfiltered James"

The internet at our finger tips... Google one click away, we can see the world from our HD screens.  Yet we still travel, we earn to have these experiences for ourselfs.  I want to see the pyramids with my own eyes.  I want to remember the smells the heat on my face,  I will take the photos I want...

I think about this when I get discouraged as a photographer, the voices of doubt creep into my head and I hear.

"It has already been done"
"This picture is boring"
"You will never be a Dan winters, Chace Jarvise, Henri Cartier-Bresson"
"Whats the point in continuing this absurd pipe dream"
"Give up"

I have one thing to say to that, and that's who gives a shit!  I take these photos for me so that I can experience life the way I see it.  I do this for no one else but me.  I would like to share a few of my stories with you and a few invaluable tips I have learned along the way.  How do I share and publish my story?

Veritas