Seize the Day and Slay

Risk, Test, Rinse and Repeat

Why isn’t this working?

I’m a perfectionist, an impatient one as well. I’m also a (hobbyist) photographer. These two things come into conflict more times than I’d care to admit. Sometimes when going out on a shoot, I come up empty handed because the inspiration is simply not there. I go home, discouraged, and leave the camera in the closet for a while. While I have plenty of perspiration, the inspiration is lacking and I end up empty handed.

Then I do get inspired. At the wrong time…

There are other times when I’m out and about and suddenly see something very cool that I want to photograph. I don’t have my DSLR on me, so I grab a shot with my iPhone, post it to Instagram, and call it a day. I kick myself a bit, and bust out my DSLR after in hopes inspiration will strike twice.

I get the likes on IG, shrug, and move on. It’s cool, but it would have been a much better shot with a real camera and some light Photoshopping. Oh well, at least it was captured.

Then Inspiration and Perspiration both fail

When I have the inspiration and the perspiration (along with my camera), I still fail to get something really good. The shots are blurry, the subject of focus moved, the lighting is off, whatever it is…it’s not quite right.

It’s a semi-bitter defeat, but it’s not the end of the world. It’s also a lot of data on my memory card and computer that I’ll ultimately have to erase. That’s also okay, it’s not printing paper, darkroom time, or the wasted chemicals. This is the 21st Century. Isn’t technology great?!

Keep going…don’t stop

Then, as if the stars align, I have my camera, I’m inspired by something small, say f*ck it, shoot and it turns out great! I post it on 500px, I get a few likes, I might make a few prints, everything’s cool. The only way I’m able to produce anything (and, trust me, I don’t produce much) is by continuing to seize the day and slay.

Life happens randomly. The right opportunity at the wrong moment, the wrong opportunity at the right moment, and the rarity of stars aligning and it still fails. The important part is to learn and move on. Success is a continuous cycle of trial and error until you find what works.

Take those risks

I don’t mean jump off a building if you think you can fly. Newton had an apple. It fell. So will you. However, if a risk is calculated and you can easily recover from the setback, why not see what happens?

This idea isn’t just sage life advice, but has also be applied to development and business through LEAN methodology. One of the core thoughts behind LEAN is to continuously improve by implementing small “risks” one at a time, testing them, and if effective, moving forward.

A good result after trial and error

The controlled risk-taking makes it easier to drive substantial change because it’s a bite size chunk vs. an upheaval of the status quo. Those other stakeholders feel more respected because the change does not throw their lives into chaos. Your financial loss is minimized. You’ll have the opportunity to learn and improve.

As for my photography, here’s an experiment of taking pictures out of my living room window after a nasty storm. After several shots playing with the light, angle, etc., I got something cool.