“No man ever achieved worthwhile success who did not, at one time or other, find himself with at least one foot hanging well over the brink of failure.” -Napoleon Hill
It’s been a little while since we last chatted. There was a time, recently actually, that I considered hanging my camera up. Something about balance and losing myself. To be completely honest with you, I mulled the existence of this entire post over for a full four days. I didn’t want to give off the wrong impression. But I decided to talk about it… because it’s real. And Besides, I feel like every artist must struggle with thoughts of giving up at some point.
So instead of delving into why I thought about quitting, I’ll talk about what made me stay. What makes me stay through all of these years, even when things are a little tough.
Sunday night, I went to bed feeling defeated. There I was, snuggled in bed and mentally going over my to-do list for the next day, when I started drifting to sleep. There’s this special time, or place, right in between sleep and consciousness. I was there… and when I went to bed that night, I thought I wanted nothing more than a break. A vacation. A beach. But when I was in that enchanted place where consciousness and dreams meet, I was doing the thing that makes me the happiest. Not taking a vacation and certainly not sitting on a beach. I was photographing a sweet child. And everything was right in my world.
I wouldn’t have been aware of this if my phone didn’t light up and wake me up at the right moment. I would’ve drifted off to sleep and completely forgot about by morning if it weren’t for a client sending me a message late at night… and when I opened that message, I knew my heart was whole again. She thanked me for capturing priceless moments. She told me that she is grateful to know me. That she’s thankful for my talent… and that my talent is God-given.
Sometimes, I think we all need a reminder to put things back into perspective. So I am thankful for that. I’m thankful for clients who remind me why I fell in love with photography to begin with. I’m grateful for all who trust me with their moments. But most of all, I am thankful for these kids… these awesome kids who make me fall in love with capturing their spirit.
xo
I’m glad you feel renewed and decided to keep going. Although my glee is partially self-serving as you have captured memories for my family and me over the past two weeks that I will forever treasure, I am so happy that others will have that same opportunity and Ellie will have such an amazing, talented, GENUINE, individual to capture those moments as she grows 🙂
I am so thankful for your honesty. I can relate so much! Being an artist takes so much emotion and being a photographer takes so much work! You are my number one photographer inspiration at this point. Again thanks for your honesty, heart, talent, all your hard work! Don’t forget to get good breaks and get lots of rest though!
I hope for selfish reasons and for everyone else you never tire of photography. You have far to much natural talent and it would be a shame to let it go to waste. That being said, I hope you never tire of photography because that would mean you have tired of your passion. While you are amazingly talented, don’t let your career choice ruin what you love. And I’m sure all of your clients, myself included, would be sad if you chose to hang up your camera but would also be supportive and understanding. Don’t let work ruin your favorite pastime. Let your passion be that, your passion and what makes you happy. I’m not encouraging you to leave photography, lol, just encouraging you to be happy. Again, I think you have far too much God given talent to waste. And you use your talent to give so much back.