Passion for Photography

If there is no passion in your life, then have you really lived? Find your passion, whatever it may be. Become it, and let it become you and you will find great things happen FOR you, TO you and BECAUSE of you.

( T. Alan Armstrong )

According to Wikipedia Passion (from the Latin verb patior, meaning to suffer or to endure, also related to compatible) is an emotion applied to a very strong feeling about a person or thing. Passion is an intense emotion compelling feeling, enthusiasm, or desire for something. The term is also often applied to a lively or eager interest in or admiration for a proposal, cause, or activity or love.

Passion can be expressed as a feeling of unusual excitement, enthusiasm or compelling emotion towards a subject, idea, person, or object. A person is said to have a passion for something when they have a strong positive affinity for it. A love for something and a passion for something are very similar feelings. (Wikipedia)

I like the definition above and there is the truth in that especially from the Latin verb “patior”  to suffer or to endure. Sometimes being passionate can be tough on ourselves but we can tolerate that quite easily simply because we love so much about the things that we care the most and in this case I’m talking about photography. Honestly ask ourselves how passionate we are with photography, is it just another hobby to pass the time or it is something that so close to your heart that you can’t possibly thinking about anything else.

I get involved in this profession as a photographer not by accident and not my second or third choice, it is my first choice and I’ve told myself since I was still at primary school that I want to become a photographer when I grew up and make a living as a photographer. Thanks to National Geographic Magazine, I get so inspired by their photographers and really hoping to become one of their photographers, traveling and taking a great pictures. What drive me to become passionate about being as a photographer is not so much driven by the monetary gain but I like the life of a photographer, I like the life of being outdoors, I hate office life. I want to see the world and I want to share with many people as much as possible with photography.

It was easier to share a story with a few photograph than share a thousands words just to tell a story and that’s why they say “a picture is worth a thousand words” and it was so true, that’s the power of a photograph. Passion is something that cannot be taught but I guess it can be nurtured, sometimes we have interest in photography but it was not deep enough, you can’t feel it, you can’t breath it. It is not quite easy to know whether some people are passionate enough about what they are doing physically, I mean, just by looking at the individual but you can see or will know whether a person is passionate enough about what they are doing from their work, their work represent their passion.

Why I’m bringing this topics here, simply because I’ve got a lot of question from peoples who have lot’s of interest in photography asking about this and that, how to shoot this, how to shoot that, what lens to buy, which camera brand is good, what gear should I buy but very rarely I’ve got a question asking me “How to be passionate about photography”? “How I can nurture my interest in photography”? “Where I got the inspiration”? “What drives me to photograph”?.

I think to be success in photography, ( success I mean here is you produce something that you can be proud of  ) you need to know the reason why you get involve with photography in the first place. Is it because the possibility of making money easily, shooting weddings, events, function or anything else that related to making money with photography.

There is nothing wrong about making money with photography,  a lot of people do it but there is a difference between making a living with photography and choosing a photography as a hobby. If we get involved in photography because of making a living or as a  business, then we need to know how to run a business, learn about marketing, promotion, costing and  thousand kind of thing that related to business. You need to think and act as like a businessman first and photographer second. This is my personal opinion and I will not go deeper into that since I want to concentrate about passion here. Maybe I will wrote about business in photography later.

Let’s get start with the new year with PASSION, I know this article is like “hang” somewhere, I’m not a good writer, I know that but in the meantime just ask ourselves, are we passionate enough about what we are doing or just following trends, following friends, just to pass some times, making extra money during the weekends? Personally I think passionate people will do something without no string attach, they will do it, just for the pure satisfaction, they enjoy what they are doing, they are working but doesn’t felt like working. I’ve known many great photojournalist who are passionate about what they are doing, they are willing to go to the the extra miles to get a great photograph and sometimes risk their life to get a great pictures. Photography is their LIFE not just a career.

Let’s start our journey into the New Year with PASSION…