the best moments

"The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing time… The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile." - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

As a photographer I've found out that it's essential to fully embrace what defines me and makes me unique, and work hard towards the direction of my own goals and personal dreams instead of someone else's. But what I also realized is that dreams change. All the time. And with new dreams comes the necessity to challenge what I know, step outside my comfort zone and learn new things.

When I started taking Polaroid photos I had to learn about the different cameras and films, how to slow down and mindfully craft the composition of each shot. When I started my own business as a child/family photographer I had to pull out my digital camera's manual more often than I'd like to admit and understand and establish sound business practices. Lately I've been working with non-profit organizations and learning about poverty, exclusion and how best to use my skills to help promote social change and make a difference. And most recently, as I am crawling all over the city to photograph homes for a travel website, I am learning how to shoot with a flash.

It's not always easy. Learning often comes with uncertainty, fear, frustration, and yes, mistakes. But when we cling to what we know, to our comfort zone, never addressing the things that we are afraid of or curious about, we cut ourselves off from the opportunity to find and develop new creative strengths, to discover what we can do and become who we really are.

Today tell us: what are some the big and small challenges that you’ve overcome lately and that have helped you become a better photographer? When was the last time you stepped out of your comfort zone? Is there something that you've always wanted to learn but were too afraid to tackle? If yes, how about taking the plunge today?

Comments

[Brenda]

Wow! talk about serendipity!

I am taking Kat Sloma's wonderful Find Your Eye course, Journey of Recognition, and our recent assignment was to step outside our comfort zone - here is the results (and frustrations) of that experience:

The Comfort Zone http://bit.ly/pax8ox

[cheris]

I'm moving away from the green rectangle! http://www.flickr.com/photos/liffords/6044047191/in/set-72157627295602677

[Kathryn Dyche Dechairo]

When I upgraded my camera in February it was the first time I'd ever sat down and and read a manual. I knew I had to stop relying on the auto mode and start learning more of the features and when I did I was blown away by the difference I started to see in my images. Now I just want to learn more and more but it takes time, practice and patience but I'm glad I found the courage to take it off the auto button.

[Lillian]

Love this post! I've been working like crazy lately at shooting with film and it's completely blowing my mind! It's amazing:) It feels so good to feel like I am actually making so many decisions about how and what to shoot. Watching it actually turn out the way I envision more times than not now? INCREDIBLE!

[Lillian]

Oops forgot to add an image! A recent favorite on film:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lillianclaire/6036786979/

[LaLa]

I spent the summer in Africa. Everything everything about it was stretching and learning and hard.
Certainly every-single shot I took with my camera felt outside my comfort zone.

http://whichwayishomeagain.blogspot.com/2011/08/7-hours-of-friendship.html

[anngeedee]

I recently purchased a few items to start working on off-camera flash. I'm so far out of my comfort zone that I have to force myself to practice with it. It's a tough one since I can't use the TTL functionality of my flash with my cheapy setup. It's good because I'm now learning all the nuances of distance, flash strength and exposure and how they relate to each other. It's been good to try something new, but I'm feeling very vulnerable at the same time. Here's one of my initial trials: http://www.flickr.com/photos/anngeedee/5945757659/in/photostream

[olivia]

two things.. learning to take better selfie photos! I take so many pictures but I'm not in any of them.. need to get out of my comfort zone of being behind the camera and jump in front of it more often! the second thing would be shooting manual.. I'm not a pro nor claim to be but learning how to use a dlsr has been an accomplishment for me the past year and I'm starting to get the whole manual thing and how it can work for the type of photos I like to take!! check out my latest blog post


http://lovelifeandpictures.blogspot.com/2011/08/week-end-after-dark-fun-in-sun.html

[Deirdre]

I've also started taking film photos. For me it's not just learning about the different cameras and film and getting past the complete fear of wasting an expensive shot, but it's about getting past my organizational issues. Just getting something into the mail is difficult for me, so asking me to order film, shoot it, write down any pertinent information, stick it in an envelope with all the info needed, address it, and get it to the post office is a lot. But I just sent three rolls off, shot in three different cameras, and I am eagerly awaiting them. In the meantime, a friend loaned me a polaroid land camera and I've been playing with that. It's also hard for me to post things on flickr that I haven't agonized over in post processing, so the very nature of film is a little scary for me -- I am attempting not to do any post processing with it except perhaps to fix exposure or erase dust. I have a way to go, but here is a portrait of myu daughter I took with the polaroid: http://www.flickr.com/photos/superdewa/6076179609/

[Kat]

My crazy new thing is learning to drive a scooter. After two years of watching them cruise around in Italy, I finally did it, and it's tons of fun. I'm still learning, but it feels great to have expanded my comfort zone! When you do these new things, it just brings more and more confidence.
http://www.kateyeview.com/2011/08/my-two-wheeled-adventure.html

[PetinaHope]

I love Shuttersisters for these great posts! My great photography moment was when I decided to buy my first two non-kit lenses. Learning and growing has been so exciting!

And here's a recent local, end of summer adventure I captured: http://petinahopephotography.wordpress.com/2011/08/30/summer-adventure-el-ride-to-the-noyes-cultural-arts-center/

[ТЕНЬ М11]

Love this post! I've been working like crazy lately at shooting with film and it's completely blowing my mind! It's amazing:)

http://www.chinabring.ru

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