It’s slow for most of us right now, but I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing. It gives us time to reflect on what has been, as well as what the future holds. During these “down” times I really try to take advantage of looking at other photographer’s work, reviewing what I have shot and most importantly planning out a course of action for the future – planning self-assignments, reworking the portfolio, etc…
Time is something not to be wasted. With the economy the way it is we can't sit back and get depressed, feeling sorry for ourselves and not knowing from where the next assignment will come. We have to understand that all of this is in our control, not out of it. We have the ability to change our course of action, to turn time in our favor so that it starts working for us and not against us.
Time can be a funny thing. It can either go by in a flash or take forever getting to that magical 5 o’clock hour (when it’s “okay” to have a drink). By dividing up the day with assignments, time starts to work in our favor. It all starts to look more manageable.
What we really need to understand is that no one really knows what time it is (yes I know a song by Chicago - sorry). For example look at the above photo of the clock. It is a famous clock on the corner of 5th and Broadway in NYC. The Flatiron Building is in the background. I shot this about two weeks ago on a visit with my photo friends Renee Comet and Randy Santos. It was in the afternoon around 1:30 pm. What I’ve recently noticed is that the clock doesn’t work. Now, to me, that’s strange. A beautiful ornate clock in a very public place has stopped and no one notices. Or maybe they do and they don’t care, or know what to do about it. We are so obsessed with time, but yet no one really notices it until it matters. How many times have we sat at the end of the day wondering where all the time had gone, why we didn’t get more done? Planning what we do is crucial to success. My new year’s resolution is to have a better control of my time. Write more on this blog, create more self-assignments, take more photos.
And “As Time Goes By” I will be a better photographer.
