Remember

It’s so easy to get wrapped up in contemporary trends, and so easy to fall subconsciously into competition with your peers. On days like today, I have to remind myself that I’m not striving to be more like my peers, and my goal shouldn’t be to be as good or better than them. It’s days like today that I have to remind myself of the photographs that inspired me in the first place. Remind myself of the type of photographs that made me want to become a photographer. And I need to forget the trash that floats around the net under the guise of technical precision.

As a photographer, I’m not in competition with people my age, in my city, in my market niche. I’m in competition with Avedon, Penn, Ritts, and Bassman. Someone in our generation will be remembered and revered as they have been, why can’t it be me? That is the level of quality to strive for, and it will take time and dedication and experimentation and mistakes, and most of all joy in what I am doing. This is a reminder to myself: remember why you started and where you’re headed, take your time, and stop worrying about how you’re going to get there.

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