The Pain of Effort

“The buried talent is the sunken rock on which most lives strike and founder.” – Frederick William Faber

Growth takes effort. I was not good take taking photos overnight. I look back at some of the earlier photos I posted online. I wonder how did they ever made it off my memory card? Then I look at some of the ones I take today, and they look way better. It took practice for me to grow as a photographer. The same is true for me professionally. I didn’t become the teacher I am today in a couple of days. It took years of practice, reading, researching, and training to get where I am today. What most people don’t see is the behind the scenes effort. They only see the results. We do the same thing when we look at others who are successful. We don’t see the rejection, the late nights, the frustration, and failures. Effort can cause pain, but effort can be rewarding.

One area I have been working on lately is taking more photos of people. I typically only have my family to practice on, but teenagers don’t like cameras in their faces (or at least mine). I wanted to grow more as a photographer. The one area I haven’t done a lot of is street photography. I got a taste of it last year. I stumbled onto a protest while riding my bike through Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. This winter I started taking photos of people I saw while riding my bike or taking walks through my neighborhood. I have taken photos of just about every part of Charlotte. However, I haven’t come close to capturing photos of the people I have encountered.

I captured these photos while I was out on a walk recently. I typically bring my camera with me whenever I leave the house. I take photos of anything that seems interesting to me, from people to sunsets. This has made my adventures with my camera more interesting. While I am walking by the same places every time, I am seeing different people each time.