A few ways to increase your connection to your photography - Kirk Tuck (Thu 23 Feb 2012)

A3 Prints - New York - Aug 2011
Kirk Tuck (*) writes:

To do what you like in your work, separate from the buzz. [..]

• slow down [..] If you slow down and concentrate on the kinds of images that bring you real joy you'll find a tighter bond with your own work.


• Stop looking at all the sharing sites - When you turn off the outside influences and sit quietly with your own thoughts about art and photography you begin to understand the way you like to see and share art. That's valuable. Everything else is unconscious imitation.


• Do a project - Consistency of vision and subject are worthwhile goals for all artists. Set yourself to the task of creating a body of consistent work. Choose a subject that you love and explore it in depth. Ignore everything else.


• When you choose to do a project have a a goal - Wouldn't it be great if it changed some lives? But no matter where it ends up I will have met interesting people who've taken charge of their own lives and excelled. What fun role models. And the art will be my souvenir of my time spent with them. The prints will be part of the sharing.


• Start thinking beyond the screen - [..] When you slow down and do your art try to go through the whole process of bringing an image to life before you rush out the door to fill up more memory cards and hard drives.


• Really explore the images in front of you. Edit them down. Make them perfect and then print them large [..] Print them till you love them. And learn from the process of presentation. Learn what you like to see, big. The art becomes both portable and present when you pull it off the screen and onto paper. Be sure to go through the whole process so you understand in your gut what you've really created. It will slow you down [..] and focus it on doing work that makes you smile. You are the first audience.


• Finally, forget the online critiques - Find people in your own town, city, region whose work you admire and approach them about forming a sharing circle. Just like a writer's group.

Having a project will move you to take chances. [..] You'll need to discipline yourself to do the [..] And you'll need to learn how to finish.

Having a goal for your work gives it extra meaning.

Sharing the work with live people standing in front of you builds real confidence in the work. Having real critiques is painful but helps engender real growth. Helping real, human, non-virtual friends succeed with their own art is part of a rewarding virtuous circle. Embrace it.

From A few ways to increase your connection to your photography (*) by Kirk Tuck (*) - Thu 23 Feb 2012.

On Confidence - Drew Ginn (Tue 17 Mar 2009)

Five One Hundredths of a Second - 500m Premier Opens Final - AusDBF Nats / Penrith (Fri 19 Apr 2013)
Drew Ginn (*) talks On Confidence (*):

iNflating or deFLating confidence happens all the time. Do you notice how others can have such and influence on your own confidence, and that is not to mention how much your own self talk can magnify what others say and do. [..]

I have reflected on moments during my life when someone has said something that has boosted my confidence and when someone has drained my confidence with something they have said.

via Confidence Balloons(*)o by Drew Ginn (*).

I did a great RPM class (*) today and for some reason i came out of the class and thought of this post that Drew made way back in March 2009. Vincent gave us so much today and for me it was mostly about giving us the confidence to push ourselves past our perceived maximums and achieve new levels of fitness, no matter who we were or why we were there.

I also know this thing about confidence to be true based on my paddling experiences.

When I first started out at PDs in 2005, I received an email from one of the coaches welcoming me to the club and team, adding that they felt I would make a positive contribution. It was only a couple of words but it helped motivate me to be the best I could with the limited experience I had at the time.

Eight years on now, and I am always surprised what a few words can do to lift my failing self-confidence. It happened a couple time this year and the people who boosted my confidence probably had no idea how much they contributed to help push me on.

Another occurrence this year was in the AusDBF National Premier Opens 500m Final (*) where Darren our sweep calls with 150m to go, that you are doing it (*). An amazingly appropriate and uplifting call to make when we were a nose behind and the last part of the race to finish off. Without those four words I am sure it would have been a different result. They gave us the confidence to know that we were there and he believed in us to take It home and to nudge our nose across the line first.

I always try to be positive and as realistic as the situation allows, and I hope that I have helped raise the confidence of a few others over the years. I guess in some way that means I might have more self-confidence than I give myself credit for :-). Hey, nice positive self-talk Geoff.

I am just also reminded of this little incident (*) which was one of the highlights of the USA 2011 Trip (*).

On the other side of the coin I also have learnt what deflates confidence and contributes to a "sub-optimal" performance. I know and remember these times and try to ensure that if they do occur again, that they don't affect me as much as they have done in the past.

Lanterns - Birds of Tokyo (youtube)

Lanterns (*) by Birds of Tokyo (*) [Youtube (*)]
Some Lyrics from Lanterns (*):

[..] Without question, without doubt
In the light (*) that we have found
It is finally clear
Our day has come
And we'll stand for who we are
We are ready, we are young
We have nothing to fear [..]

via Lanterns (*) by Birds of Tokyo (*).

On Randomness - Seth Godin (Sun 26 May 2013)

Untitled Random Photo -Tokyo (Fri 22 Sep 2012)
Seth Godin (*) writes On Randomness (*):

there's a lot more randomness (*) in the world than we'd care to admit.

He elaborates:

There are two things to be done with that fact.

1. The first is to identify the few things that do happen for a reason and learn (*) from them, as opposed to ignoring the available lesson. When cause and effect is at work, figuring out the cause is the single best way to manage the effect.


2. And the second is to take the (essentially) random (*) events and choose to respond (as opposed to an overreaction). The big opportunity is to figure out how to take advantage of the change (*) that was just handed to us, even if it wasn't for us, about us, or what we were hope (*) for.

via Does it happen for a reason? (*) by Seth Godin (*).

On Expectation and Hope - Baz Luhrmann - Good Weekend / SMH (Sat 11 May 2013))

Jenny - National Library of Australia / Canberra (Nov 2003)
Baz Luhrmann (*) on Expectation (*) and Hope (*):

I have no expectations (*).Only hopes (*).

It was a titanic effort from fearless Baz, says DiCaprio (*) by Gary Maddox (*).

Random recollection. Baz's Mother, Barbara and her Husband, Ross, were our dancing instructors around the time following Strictly Ballroom (*). We did it for a few years and we seemed to stop shortly after Jenny was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 1996.

Jenny and I decided that we should give the Bridal Waltz, at our Wedding (*), our best effort and we engaged Barbara and Ross to choreography our waltz, and to give us a few lessons to learn and master our steps. It all went marvelously well on the big day and we surprised ourselves, along with all our Family and Friends.

On Strategy - J.J. Abrams - Spectrum / SMH (Sat May 2013)

Untitled - NLA / Canberra (May 2003)
J.J. Abrams (*) reveals his approach On Strategy (*):

i have to say there is no strategy (*), other than responding to what feels right.

The other side of the Trek (*) by Paul Byrnes (*).

On Letting Go - Wade Wallace / cyclingtips (Tue 14 May 2013)

Anticipation - Water (*) - AusDBF State vs State Day / SIRC / Penrith (Thu 18 Apr 2013)
Wade Wallace (*) writes On Letting Go (*):

releasing expectations will often reward you with unconditional enjoyment and sometimes surprise.

The Big 4-0 (*) by cyclingtips (*).

A remarkably succinct and insightful observation on how to approach life. The older I get, the more I know this to be true. Happy 40th Wade.