Call & Response

The Call: Returning Order, Slowly — Jessica

We do this for the art, not the adulation. I’d rather our music get liked and we get ignored. I don’t want to be adored for anything other than the music.

— Andy Partridge

This sums up, pretty nicely, how I feel about photography. While it is nice to receive praise (and comments!) I just feel the need to keep creating — regardless of attention or inattention to my work. I do this because I can’t help but see things. Things that remind me of other things, that represent other things, that tell stories of other things: other moments, other lives, other thoughts, other feelings…

Things are slowly returning to normal and order is slowly returning to our home. I have so many thoughts and dreams and hopes for this year (and a very special project brewing in my mind) that the order can’t come quickly enough…I want to set to work!

Response: The Road — Cheryl

I must admit to a certain amount of adulation on my part when I joined Flickr a few years ago. Everyday, I’d add three photos to my photostream (new, old, it didn’t matter), submit those three to the groups I had joined, look through the contributions of others in the group, leave comment after comment, and think to myself, “everyone else is so much better than I am.” Now, there are thousands of my photos on Flickr, but very little adulation left. I’m still impressed by the work of others, but not as easily. What has changed? I have. My photography skills; my eye for good composition, light and point of view; and my equipment. Gaining experience is a great way of shoring up confidence.

Does all that mean that I’ve “arrived”? Hardly. As Robert Frost wrote, “I have miles to go before I sleep.” I’m still learning, still improving, and — most importantly — still loving the process.