success quote

amazing inspirational quote about success by Ralph Marston. He gives daily motivational quotes everyday at http://greatday.com.

"Success is achieved not by doing only what is comfortable and convenient. Success is built by doing what must be done to reach it.

Success is achieved not by waiting until the last minute to get started. Success is created by looking ahead and working to be fully prepared.

Success is achieved not by making a half-hearted effort. Success comes when there is rock-solid commitment and real, meaningful purpose.

Success is achieved not by waiting for the lucky breaks. Success is built by making the most of whatever circumstances and events may come along.

Success is achieved not at random. Success happens when there is a decision and an effort and a commitment to make it happen.

Success is achieved not by a lucky few. Success is achieved by anyone who chooses to create it."

inspiration.

these are the things that inspire me:

the vast incredible power of the ocean.
a cool breeze on a clear day.
seeing someone succeed when they defied all odds.
professional athletes and the work they do to perform at that level. [olympics influences here]
powerfully creative art of any kind.
children and their abundance of energy.

which leads me to the photos below. they are lexi and christian. two beautiful cheerful wonderful kids. christian took an immediate liking to me. i was 'his friend.' he even wanted me to pick him up and walk with me. melts my heart. his fascination with cars and how he could sit down in the middle of the sidewalk and focus just on that. his imagination inspires me.

inspired.

inspiration sometimes comes from unlikely sources. i am referring to be inspired by the olympics, specifically the olympians. They are a great reminder that it is possible to the be the worlds best at something. But, that comes from hours of work every day. So Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin, and so on are an inspiration to work harder than every before. They can do it, and so can I. I aim to be the world's best. Part of that sounds egotistical. Not sure how to answer that. I guess I can say, instead of aiming to be the world's best, I can say aim to be the absolute best I can be. But, that is too vague and could mean anything. I believe it is important to state a solid goal. That goal is to be the best photographer in the world. Sounds impossible? Well when you would have told Michael Phelps at the time he started to swim that it would be foolish to aim for 8 gold medals in swimming. It is doable, and will be done.

immersion

to be heavily immersed in something positive is to feel alive.

i started my 'portrait book' of alex today. it is not only going to help me mercilessly critique my own work, but it is going to help me question why i photograph. what it is about my decisions that i made that lends itself to a portrait of a particular person. questions are the key to photography. they may not always be answered; but they need to be asked. the process of asking is engaging and reveals a photograph in layers. it starts off with superficial questions such as 'why did i crop it this way, or the tone, or the texture of something.' then, the next layer is revealed - 'what does this tone represent? does it lend to a particular mood that is sought after? does the tone reveal a part of a persons personality?' i must be brutal in my critiques. this is where true growth emerges. i started that journey today.