Sunday Morning Reflections - The Power of an Image

I woke up thinking about how much we take for granted as part of the photographic industry. We've all taken thousands of images. For many of you, having a camera close by at all times is as natural as having your driver's license in your wallet. As an artist, you look at the world a little differently than the rest of the world. You notice colors, shadows, highlights and geometric lines. You people-watch with a portrait in mind, always noticing how differently people look, their expressions and the lines on their face telling their story.

What got me to this topic this morning was spending a couple hours with my Dad last night. He's dealing with some health issues and at almost 93 things that most of us would never think about, he can't ignore. He was feeling a little anxious, and I had gone over just to help him focus. I had my laptop with me and in my files I had a few thousand images, mostly grab shots.  For over an hour we just clicked through images. 

I had images from DragonCon last year, fly-fishing with our son in Georgia, pictures from conventions, SPTV, ShutterFest, a Women's Club fashion show Sheila was in, my grandsons and a ton of landscapes and sunsets. It was pure entertainment as I took Dad through a couple of years of events and travel. Each image had a story to go with it, and each story helped Dad refocus. 

Here's my point and it's all about what so many of you take for granted - the power of your images and the true importance of the trust people put in you every day. There are few things more important than the value of your skill set - helping people stop a moment in time. You take intangible memories and turn them into a product they can hold, cherish and relive over and over again.

Stop under-estimating your value and the importance of the career path you've chosen. Never compromise on the quality of an image. You never know how important it might become later on.

Wishing everybody a wonderful Sunday. Make it a day filled with memory making moments and as always, I hope you're going for those eleven-second therapeutic hugs. They'll never let you down.