2006_2232 Surrounded
Last (for now) in my series of lichens surrounding patches of bare rock. I think of this one as the "Hungry Ghost", but it could be anything: a bat, a fighter plane, a stone angel...
Years ago, in 1989 or 1990, a publisher told me, "You're wasting your time photographing flowers." In his opinion I should stick to birds and animals. This was because he published calendars and day planners that featured pictures of birds and animals. He was almost yelling at me over the phone. He really meant that I was wasting HIS time, and I didn't take offence, didn't take it personally. He liked my wildlife stuff and thought I should focus exclusively on that. I wonder what he would think of these lichens; probably not much. A waste of time.
Some time later - in September 1994 to be exact - another fellow approached me on the Opabin Plateau in Yoho National Park, BC, and insisted that I was standing in the "wrong" spot. He walked me over to the place he deemed the "correct" viewpoint and ordered me to set up there. I was shocked by his intrusiveness and ignorance - as if anyone could possibly know what kind of image I was trying for, or how anyone could decide he "knew better". I told him to go away. Unbelievable!
The point of all this? Don't listen to the advice of fools. Follow your heart, your instincts; play hunches, dare to make bold and unconventional choices. It is almost a given that I will never sell these lichen shots. But perhaps the act of looking deeply - and giving myself permission to photograph anything I choose for the sheer fun of it - has made me a better photographer than I would have become had I listened to bad advice. Wasting my time? Because it won't sell? Well, if I thought the purpose of life was to acquire wealth, I would never have gone into photography! As Robert Graves said, "There's no money in poetry. But there is no poetry in money either."
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2020 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
2006_2232 Surrounded
Last (for now) in my series of lichens surrounding patches of bare rock. I think of this one as the "Hungry Ghost", but it could be anything: a bat, a fighter plane, a stone angel...
Years ago, in 1989 or 1990, a publisher told me, "You're wasting your time photographing flowers." In his opinion I should stick to birds and animals. This was because he published calendars and day planners that featured pictures of birds and animals. He was almost yelling at me over the phone. He really meant that I was wasting HIS time, and I didn't take offence, didn't take it personally. He liked my wildlife stuff and thought I should focus exclusively on that. I wonder what he would think of these lichens; probably not much. A waste of time.
Some time later - in September 1994 to be exact - another fellow approached me on the Opabin Plateau in Yoho National Park, BC, and insisted that I was standing in the "wrong" spot. He walked me over to the place he deemed the "correct" viewpoint and ordered me to set up there. I was shocked by his intrusiveness and ignorance - as if anyone could possibly know what kind of image I was trying for, or how anyone could decide he "knew better". I told him to go away. Unbelievable!
The point of all this? Don't listen to the advice of fools. Follow your heart, your instincts; play hunches, dare to make bold and unconventional choices. It is almost a given that I will never sell these lichen shots. But perhaps the act of looking deeply - and giving myself permission to photograph anything I choose for the sheer fun of it - has made me a better photographer than I would have become had I listened to bad advice. Wasting my time? Because it won't sell? Well, if I thought the purpose of life was to acquire wealth, I would never have gone into photography! As Robert Graves said, "There's no money in poetry. But there is no poetry in money either."
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2020 James R. Page - all rights reserved.