"Helene" and Photographing the Last Survivor

by Skip Cohen
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It's definitely a TGIF day - not because it's the end of the week, but the storm is over, at least here in the Sarasota area. We were lucky - Hurricane Helene turned more north. But for so many of you, we're sending our thoughts and prayers. We may not have gotten hit with the full force, but what we did get left us with complete respect for the power of Mother Nature - high winds, rain, and tornado warnings repeatedly.

As I watched the hurricane roll in and worried about our safety and home, I got a little philosophical. I started thinking about this one set of Crepe Myrtle flowers fighting to hang on. The tree started the season covered in hundreds of blooms, yet this one group was all that was left.

At the risk of sounding outrageously trite, like an old Jack Handy routine from Saturday Night Live, I started thinking about business. What gives some people a survival instinct so strong that they're determined to pivot, grow, and stay in tune with the demand for their services? Yet, others slowly slip away and eventually cease to exist. They give up.

Okay, it's a reach to connect, but think about your passion for photography. If you've been a working pro for at least five years, you've survived a pandemic, changes in technology, consumer trends, and countless challenges in competition. You've grown because you didn't slow down. You kept searching for the right recipe to continue doing something you love no matter what the "weather".

In most cases, you never slowed down, continuing to fine-tune your skills and build relationships. I've written repeatedly over the years you can't create images that tug at people's heartstrings if your own heart isn't in it. Well, your heart's still in it!

I loved the quote below when I went searching for statements about survival. And when I think about friends who maintain a positive attitude, no matter what life throws at them, they all include these three simple rules along with their indomitable spirit.

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Three Simple Rules in Life
1. If you don't go after what you want, you'll never have it.
2. if you don't ask, the answer is always no.
3. If you don't step forward, you're always in the same place.
Unknown Author

Wishing everybody a great weekend ahead; prayers and positive thoughts if you're currently in Helene's path and time to give yourself a pat on the back. Whatever your goals in life, every day is an opportunity to bring them more into focus because you just won't give up on your dreams.

TGIF

"The Last Survivor" - Captured with a LUMIX G9 and 14-140mm lens