Quote of the day: Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer. — Barbara Kingsolver

Macro work with depth of field

Finding My Voice

I have been following the work of some amazing photographers recently. Looking at the way that other photographers tell stories, create visions, and express themselves makes me feel several things simultaneously.

First I feel amazing gratitude that such imagination and strength of voice exists. I love immersing myself in the startlingly original creativity of these artists.

Then my self-critical self kicks in and says, “You should do something that original. You have no voice. You just take pretty little pictures with no originality, no imagination, no voice of your own.”

Ow! That hurts. Why do I do this to myself?

Shallow depth of field

Don’t believe your self-critical, judgmental self

Part of me believes that critical self, believes that I do not have a unique voice that anyone wants to hear, believes that I will never create something so original or awesome.

Another part of me is impatient with the process of developing as an artist. What I can see and appreciate is so much greater than what I can make myself. I keep learning and getting better at what I do. And my expectations of what I will create rise as well.

Listen to your wise, kind, compassionate self

I can hear my wise self saying, “Patience grasshopper. Everything in its own time.”

Is it true that I have no voice? No. Do I express my voice the way that the photographers I admire do? No. That is a good thing, because expressing myself like the photographers I admire would be losing my voice in favor of the voice of someone else.

Allium flower

There is a gap between what I aspire to and what I do. The gap will ALWAYS be there. That is the nature of growth and learning and life. At least I hope that I will continue to grow and learn and always aspire to make something greater than what I currently can. When I no longer desire to create something just beyond what I can now do, I will be dying and ready to leave this world.

The gap is good! It shows me my desires, it whispers to me of dreams yet to manifest. Following the compass of my desires, I discover my artistic voice. It is a soft voice now, barely audible, even to myself. Listening, exploring, creating, learning—my voice reveals itself.

About the photos in today’s post

All photos in today’s post were made with my 60 mm Tamron macro lens. I used the same allium flower stem in each photo, varying the depth of field from f/2 to f/22. Angle of the shot and framing (vertical/horizontal) were also varied.

Another soft view

One more study