As most of you know it is Fall. I get excited about things like cool mornings and evenings, frost on the ground and the colors of the season. Maybe I'm weird because most of the people I'm around on a day to day basis complain about those same things. They get excited about one singular thing... Football. The complete spectrum from kids leagues to the pros is covered in 80% of their conversations. Even when they are not talking about real football games the subject matter is about the new wave of "Fantasy Football" leagues (which equates to Dungeons and Dragons with football stats sans the 10 sided die).
Anyways, I'm not really knocking these guys but I continually ask myself "What do they do that is productive outside of their normal jobs?" It seems that every waking minute outside of work is spent watching games, 12+ hours a day on weekends, and a few hours of Sports Center on regular days. That's a lot of time spent living vicariously through the TV set.
I guess I'm an elitist. I guess I don't quite fit the mold. All my time away from my normal job is spent trying to be with my family and enjoying what little time I have with them right now. When I can't do that I spend time at my hobby which is Photography. Sometimes on a good day I get to combine the two subjects into a single event which really makes me happy.
There is a lot that goes into the current age of photography. A lot of time is spent getting to locations, setting up and looking through the glass. That is the physical part of the craft. A lot more time is spent behind a computer screen not only editing, but uploading and posting to forums so that you can get feedback from your peers. Then another part is doing your research. You have to look at what other people are doing, how they are doing it and then adding your own flair so that you, yourself can progress. There is a lot of work that goes into it.
At the end of the day.. I don't have a fresh twenty dollar bill in my pocket for picking the spread on the local team and I don't have conversation content about how I'm benching Favre for someone who will actually add to my manta pool (I think I'm mixing games... same concept, whatever). What I do have is a product.. Something I'm proud of. Something I'll put out there to get torn to shreds just so I can go back and recompose and make it more perfect. I'll have something that I can say is mine but I'd love to share it with everyone else.
This is what I do. I hope that you can understand.
-a.hoglen
Thankful for cold snaps and fall colors. Im glad you get out and enjoy the surroundings and able to find the nooks and crannies in nature that a lot of others have forgotten about, especially during "football season."
ReplyDeleteIve thoroughly enjoyed the cooler temperatures and waking up and watching the steam rise from my morning cup of coffee.
there is a place near Cashiers also that boasts some " Bear Shadow" or " Shadow of the bear" something that might be interesting to see. Better yet, a good drive. http://www.flickr.com/photos/by_jerry_jaynes/4051436250/
well said. it's the same way i feel about writing--putting it out there & having it ripped to shreds by my other writer friends so i can make it better. i don't get the frenzied fascination with sports. and don't even get me started on the amount of money these sports pros make. especially the idiotic ones.
ReplyDeletethe funny thing is, a lot of other folks look at photographers as the crazy ones, the ones who are enjoying life vicariously through their viewfinder, too busy chimping the LCD screen to really soak in the scene. football is also another way of getting out in that brisk autumn air and enjoying nature (and hot dogs)...
ReplyDeletethe great thing about football season for photographers, is that it leaves the trails pretty empty for those of us who are determined to get outside and shoot. and it looks like you're putting that to excellent advantage -- great waterfall shot!