Anyone who knows me well knows that I am neither patient nor persistent. But life has a way of giving me lessons in the things I need to learn. And both of these traits are valuable to have.
Patient and Persistent
My body is teaching me to be patient and persistent. And I am also focusing on being patient and persistent in my creative life as a photographer and beginning watercolor painter. Because learning came easily for me as a child, I didn’t have to learn to be patient or persistent. But as a photographer and painter, I find a need to be very patient and persistent and practice, practice, practice.
I can see how much I’ve improved in my watercolor painting in a few short months. And looking back I can also see how much my photography has grown and changed after years of regular practice. While I am still growing my patience and persistence I can see how important these skills are for me in my learning and growth.
Right now because of the stuff that’s going on with my body that’s currently limiting my mobility I’m finding a need to be patient, persistent, and accepting with my body as well.
After struggling with constant hip pain since late last summer and working with various practitioners to try to figure it out, I am now planning a total hip replacement. This hasn’t been an easy time. But I’ve been learning a lot about myself and also building my skills in being patient and persistent.
While I would like to snap my fingers and be on the other side of the pain and surgery I know that it is best to be patient, careful, and prepared. So I am learning all that I can, working with a physical therapist to strengthen my muscles as much as I can before surgery, and trusting my heart to choose the right surgeon and hospital for my needs.
Adjusting to Circumstances
Because I cannot go out hiking or walking right now I am doing different kinds of photography than I usually do. It is almost all from within the four walls of my house. And flowers have become my chosen subject for the time being.
In early December I bought two amaryllis bulbs to enjoy during the holiday season. They came into bloom just after Christmas. I began photographing them several times a day because I was so captivated with how the buds morphed into fully open blossoms.
I’m still photographing the amaryllis flowers daily and using them to push myself beyond my usual limits as a photographer. Each day I look at them and ask myself, “What do I see?” I study the plants, turning them this way and that. In addition I look up the work of photographers and painters that I admire and ask myself what I can apply from their work. I ask myself how the flowers make me feel and what I want the viewer to feel. And I explore new techniques.
It’s been over 3 weeks and I am still photographing the amaryllis flowers. I am seeing things I never expected to notice and finding great joy in being patient and persistent with these magnificent flowers.
This week I have been working with an inexpensive prime Canon lens called “the nifty fifty.” It’s a very lightweight small plastic lens but goes from f/1.8 to f/22. Because it’s so small it’s perfect to combine with extension tubes to get closeup photos and play with shallow depth of field.
Creative Questions
The question I’ve been asking myself is, “How much needs to be in focus and how much can be blurry?” I’ve also been playing with intentionally over-exposing images so that I can see how the images look at different exposures. It’s not uncommon for me to take a dozen or more pictures of the same thing using varying f-stops and exposures. By studying the different depths of field and exposures I learn what I prefer and how different parts of the flower may require different approaches.
Performing experiments like this helps me to get to know what works and doesn’t work and builds that elusive thing called “instinct” which is really deep learning. I find that patience and persistence are a big part of deep learning. It takes repetition, concentration, and curiosity.
How patient and persistent are you?
May you walk in beauty.
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