A Different Approach
In the last blog I mentioned the millions of photos of a waterfall in Zion National Park and the value of finding a unique way to photograph it. Here is one more thought on the subject.
How many photos have you seen of Old Faithful or of the Upper Geyser Basin at Yellowstone? Plenty I am sure. Now take a look at the two photos that accompany this blog.
CJ Kale, Nick Selway and I photographed Yellowstone Park this year at the end of winter in early April 2010 (just before the Park was ready to fully re-open for the season) and just after the park pretty much closed for the winter this past October 2010 (the Park is open all winter, but many of the businesses and hotels close in October). On our first trip in, CJ and Nick had this great idea…let’s photograph Old Faithful and the Upper Geyser Basin at night without using any flash equipment. A couple of problems…you’ve seen one picture of Old Faithful and you have seen them all, it was well below freezing at night when we were there and I had zero idea how to take a long exposure shot of the geyser that might look interesting. None of these concerns seemed to bother CJ or Nick. So, off we went. We had the place to ourselves at 1am in the morning (with the exceptions of the coyotes we heard yelping somewhere nearby in the dark…at least we hoped they were coyotes and not wolves). CJ and Nick showed me how to set the exposure to capture the shot. And the two unique photos with this blog show the results.
The same principles holds true at work. Find a new angle to attack a problem and the problem might actually be solved. Get expert help and you might actually be able to accomplish something you thought impossible. Try something different and you might find yourself rewarded. Break out of the comfort of the normal and there may be gold out there for you to find.
It is a crowded world and we all seem to come up with the same ideas. The trick is to be the one with the courage to come up with a new idea…and try it…and either succeed or fail. With out trying, you will never know if your fate is victory…or if you will need to saddle up again to find a better way. No risk…no reward. Something to think about.