Wait a minute… you’ll see what I mean.
Do something worthwhile.
The world doesn’t need another photographer. It needs people who care. It needs people with a mission.
Ted Forbes of The Art of Photography speaks about this in Brutal Truth: Nobody cares about your photography.
We need more people who want to do something worthwhile. I don’t mean we need more photographers who build orphanages either. I spent years getting to the place the education system told me I should be at by 40. I realised I’d achieved what I was told I wanted and I thought ‘Great, what now?’ What am I going to do now that’s worthwhile? How am I going to affect and influence others? I got some time up my sleeve… I can make a difference.
What’s the mission?
It turns out that ‘just being famous on the internet’ isn’t a job description. So what’s the mission? There’s millions of people who want to be a famous photographer. Photography is cool but I’d say money and time spent on travelling, and not things, is the best I’ve spent. It means showing my children places that they may not even remember but it’s experience and the immersion that enriches us in unpredictable ways. Things sometimes seem tough during the event but moving on and away from opposition is a teacher. We grow and prosper in the teeth of some pretty fearful circumstances. My role from here is to write about the places and the people in a way that sparks some meaning for everyone. A writer lets the reader create their own pictures. The pictures people create for themselves always mean more. If I can spark some creativity… maybe an urge to take a risk and just experience something, then I’m happy. I don’t even know what the outcome will be but experience tells me it works out in the end.
If the label fell off, how would people know it was me?
‘Five keys to developing a strong tone of voice’ is written in marketese but it speaks about voice. (Ann Handley is excellent and not just all marketing). I’ve considered writing in different voices but I think it’s counter productive. I don’t want to wear one voice like a uniform. A voice should be always adapting yet instantly recognisable.