The Photos Could Wait.

Sometimes the best way to improve is to stop thinking. On a recent photography outing, I was far more excited about being out than I was about photography. It was a beautiful fall day in the foothills outside Salt Lake City, Utah. The colors were amazing. The aspen trees were a brilliant yellow, setting the hillside aglow. I should have been chomping at the bit to get my camera out, but I wasn’t. It felt a little strange. This was why I was here: to take photos of the fall color, to be outside to enjoy it. 

That is when it hit me: the priority is to enjoy this moment, take it in, and appreciate it. The photos could wait. What mattered was being present and not thinking about photography. Instead, what I needed to concentrate on was this amazing time of year, a time of transition and change. To be grateful for the opportunity to be here and immerse myself in the wonder of an annual event that is beautiful and unique. 

It was only when something truly drew me in, when I noticed a moment, and not a photograph, that I would get the camera out. This slower, more appreciative approach to creating my images yielded (in my opinion) better images. At least more personally satisfying images. This day was no longer about taking photographs; it was about noticing subtlety, being present, and appreciating a remarkable moment. I was no longer making photographs. I was celebrating an extraordinary transformation.