From iPhone to Aha!
The Painful Realization
This photo was taken with an iPhone. Why? Because that’s all I had on hand! ARGH! I’m grateful that I was able to capture it somehow, BUT…
I also started kicking myself over the obvious… never leave home without your camera! The full frame one.
Hey, I’m human. Prone to mistakes, big and small. It bites sometimes, I’ll admit it.
Situation: I’m out of town. Where I’m staying I can’t see the sky, unlike home where I can see for miles and am always in touch with what’s going on in the natural world around me. Right now, I’m cranking out content for a deadline, facing the baleful monitor screen of my laptop, all. Dang. Day.
Late in the day, the hubs and I decide to go out for a walk and get some air. About 20 minutes, out, I realize what’s happening in the sky. The makings of an EPIC sunset. And we’re on the coast, near beaches. Oy. Not enough time to go back and grab my DSLR. Well, at least we can go enjoy the moment. Breeeeathe.
Within a half hour… the sky lit up and I nearly wept. Still… thank god for iPhones!
I was almost in physical pain for a bit, until I managed to turn it around. And I did…
If You Say The Obvious: You Better Duck!
The obvious: always bring your camera. Well, duh. I might punch the next person that says that to me. Hey, don’t look at me like that… I’ve got my limits! Heh. That’s too obvious. Besides, until I’m all in with mirrorless (which I will be at some point)… I frankly just don’t want to carry my ‘brick’ with me everywhere. A Canon 5DIII can be a real killjoy when all you want to do have a nice refreshing walk break and feel like a normal person for a minute. A nice mirrorless Sony… now I could Velcro THAT to my forehead and not even notice! OK, slight exaggeration, but you get my drift.
But after thinking about it – and talking to a friend about this sad “miss of epicness” – I realized something that’ll take me much further down the road than obvious platitudes.
Making Shifts That Matter
My personal vision for 2014: “Live in the light of The Miraculous”. I know exactly what this means to me.
Part of what it means on an everyday, practical level: a different kind of structure and planning.
OLD: I tend to work on projects like a primal hunter zeroing in on game. Nothing, no one, no power on earth will change my focus. I go at it until it – or me – is dead.
Clearly, that’s daft.
It might be admirable in an old-school, hair shirt kind of way… but good god, what a miserable way to live! I can take a mere slice of my work ethic and still be ahead of 99% of the population. If I’m to fulfill my 2014 vision… I need to Work Different.
NEW: So… step 1, which starts now (might as well get a jump on the new year, right?): I’m going to structure my day differently. Especially when I’m out of town… and especially when I’m in an Awesome Sunset Zone.
Today… I shall work in a wonderfully focused way until the afternoon, then it’s break time. Give myself time to get my gear together. Go out and see if there’s a sunset – or anything else – to shoot.
Here’s another little secret of mine: I’ll go for days at a time without shooting. Mind you, I don’t feel like I NEED to photograph something every single day. It’s not that… it’s what I do instead, which is work from dawn till dusk with no breaks. No food. Exercise at 10pm. WHO DOES THIS??? It’s like I put myself in jail or something.
What Do Creatively Awesome People Do?
One of the reasons I do my show “The Chat”… is to find out how awesome creative people who are really successful actually think and DO their awesomely creative thing. I do this because if I’m going to Live in The Miraculous… something’s gotta shift.
So right now, I declare:
- No more missing moments like this the one in this photo because of some jacked up work ethic that I yoke myself with.
- No more getting stuck on one thing.
- Step away from self-inflicted work ethic prison terms…
- Look up at the light…
- Follow the sparkling trail of miracle dust…
- Live from the inside out.
I know. Not exactly what we were taught. But dooooood. I’m so OVER what I was taught!
Time to fly. Let go of old constructs (you know I made this LIL Galleries show for and about myself, right?)
Heck, I’ll put it right here, in case you’re anything like me and need the reminder:
So, back to the photo that lead this whole rant.
If missing capturing it with anything but my iPhone creates the kind of shift I’m talking about… then it a hard lesson, but worthwhile.
Because if I manage to alter my daily course in the truly simple ways I just mentioned… well, that in and of itself will be the kind of miracle I’m looking for!
Reminders That Make Shift Happen
And this photo will now always remind me. It’s like shock treatment… but in a GOOD way.
Great reminders that make you stop in your tracks and alter course… that’s a special kind of magic!
So now let me say… OK. Cool. Tough lesson, but if I learn this one… it’ll take me further than just “carry your camera with you at all times” will.
Because I will structure my life for The Miraculous. I’ll make a great big place for it in my Everyday. I’ll be planning for it, counting on it, expecting it.
And one thing I’ve learned: our lives unfold according to our deepest expectations.
I expect Miracles.
Including the one that created the shift from “Dammit, all I had was my iPhone” to “Thank god all I had was my iPhone”!