Carpe diem. Seize the day. Today is the only day that exists, tomorrow might not come.
Seize the day
“Carpe diem” (seize the day) is one of the most popular Latin aphorisms, uttered by the Roman poet Horace in his work “Odes” (23 BC). A snippet:
Strain your wine and prove your wisdom; life is short; should hope be more?
In the moment of our talking, envious time has ebb’d away.
Seize the present (carpe diem); trust tomorrow e’en as little as you may.
Take the first photo
Have you ever played with those little sand timers, where you can slowly see the sand drip through the spout? You think the sand will keep flowing, but eventually it runs out.
“Shoot the day” should be our motto as photographers. There is no better time to shoot than today, or right now.
Look around you— what do you find interesting? Anything you can photograph in your office? Can you do a selfie of yourself in the mirror? Can you photograph your loved one sitting on the couch next to you? Can you photograph and record your own home, perhaps you will enjoy that photograph one day when you move out?
What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for the day you (finally) save up the money to travel abroad to some foreign city where things are more “interesting” than your own home city? But realize friend, nobody is happy where they are. I have friends who are bored in New York, Tokyo, and Paris.
The best place to shoot is your own hometown.
Are you waiting for the day when you retire? What certainty that you will live long enough to retire? What certainty that social security will still last? What certainty that you won’t get a brain tumor, get a stroke, and will no longer have the ability to take photos?
Even I’m jaded
Sure, easy for you to say Eric. You’re always traveling, and seeing the world. You’ve been to so many exotic countries, of course you’re always inspired.
False.
Most of the time when I’m not teaching workshops or traveling (most of the time) I’m just living a pretty boring, domestic life here in Berkeley. I wake up, take a cold shower, have an espresso, make an espresso for Cindy, go jump on a bus with Cindy, and spend most of my time between coffee shops in the day. I very rarely go out and shoot “street photography” anymore.
But what I’ve tried to do is photograph Cindy as faithfully as I can. I try to record mundane moments with Cindy— while eating lunch, while having a morning coffee, or having dinner in the evening. Or photographing her while she is chilling on the couch watching her TV show, or when she is passed out.
When I don’t have Cindy to photograph, I try not to forget to photograph myself. I’m 28 now— I’m glad that I shot selfies of myself when I was 18 years old— I’ve changed a lot since then.
You’re making history today
As for you, know that you’re not always going to live in the same neighborhood or the city for the rest of your life. And know that life is always changing; the photos you take today, you’re going to be grateful for 10 years from now.
Life is destroyed by procrastination
I truly believe the quote: “The perfect is the enemy of the good.”
I often fall into “paralysis by analysis”— I have some super-grand idea of a photographic project, but the idea is so grand, that I never get started (because I get overwhelmed, and become afraid of failure).
However the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.
The journey of a photographic project starts with the first photograph.
Don’t focus on projects— focus on individual images. The more you’re able to build up individual images, the more images you accrue. And as time goes on, you will be able to see strings attaching your photos together, which allows you to discover a project after you’ve shot a ton of images.
String your pearls together
Another good analogy (I got from a writer) is to write a perfect a perfect paragraph, and to just “string your pearls together.” And before you know it, you have a novel.
The same can be applied in photography— try to make the best individual photos you can, and figure out how to string those images together afterwards.
An individual pearl is beautiful by itself. But a pearl necklace (comprised of many individual pearls) is even more beautiful.
Inspiration doesn’t exist
Shoot today, what are you waiting for? Discover inspiration as you shoot, not before you shoot. The more you click, the more inspiration you will find in the world, and the more appreciative you will be of the beauty of your life.
Shoot today!
Always,
Eric