Reflections have been a part of my life and work since forever. I remember back around 1974, Paul Cava was trying to get me to loosen up. I told him I had all my photos grouped neatly in categories. Paul told me to forget that and just work and not try to organize things so much. I took what he said to heart for about…..well…a year. I thought that I wanted to do things my own way. I guess the fact that he had a Masters in Fine Arts carried weight with me as I had nada. I had 13 months in Viet-Nam as a grunt.

 

I just felt that maybe I could be right. Maybe, just maybe the future would prove that I did the right thing. I kept the organizational thing going all my photographic life and still do. I still have series that I work on that are 40+ years strong. I have a filing system that I still follow to this day. I can find any photo I ever made in less then a minute, whether it be film or digital.

What does this mean? Well, I gotta say….it means that one should follow ones own path and stick to it. Maybe some mistakes will come up. They will be your mistakes and you will learn from them. You will learn to improve.

 

 

We are shooters. We are the visual recorders of  life in our time. No one lives our life for us. We do it alone, we do it because we have to. Not many understand that  nor do they even care enough to understand. We have a new means of communication for all of us to share and use. It’s places like forums, Flickr and a gazillion other places. We become a part of a community and we feel great being around like minded shooters. That’s all nice and fine and dandy…..just remember who you are.

Remember that no one knows better then you about what camera you should use, what lens you need, what subject matter you should work with.

 

The next time you see one of those cat photos, just remember….that cat cares more about it’s owner then most people do. Just remember, you are your own guide thru life and thru your photographic journey. Yeah, sure….you may meet a few along the way that care but in the end….it’s you, your camera and your subject matter that makes your photos….

 

Now get your butt out there and work…..

don