The Image is OK

I dislike and like the image posted above. Earlier this month, Cody and I shot several images for an interview with Void Lifestyle Magazine, and this is one of the images you can find in it. When I took the image, I did not like it. I like it now, but I hate admitting that to myself. It has slowly grown on me. In all honesty, I think that the best part about this image is not the image itself, but what it represents to me.

I like this image, because it’s not that great, but it is OK. It makes me want to kick myself in the pants and become better at photography. I dislike this image, because it really is not that great! The sky is so washed out that it scares me (what the heck were my settings on when I took this?). It scares me into thinking that this is ‘as good as it gets’, for me. And I do not want this image to be ‘as good as it gets’ for me. I like this image, because compared to what I was shooting last year, my image quality has only gone up, and that’s a good feeling. I dislike this image, because it makes me wonder how I will ever be able to progress in the field of action sports photography, if I can’t even understand my off-camera flash settings (read: fake it, ’till you make it). Who would hire somebody that is not confident in their ability to use their own gear? I like this image, because somebody had enough faith in my skills to publish it, and that small recognition has brought my self-confidence level up about eight million notches. I dislike this image, because I feel like it lies about my true abilities as a photographer. It says that I can produce OK images, which is a half-truth (the worst kind of all truths). I can take OK images, but the truth is that this image is only one of 200, and the other 199 images from that day came out ridiculously rotten. I like this image, because despite the half-truth, it forces me to acknowledge my bad images, head-on. It forces me to be OK with all of the bad images that I take…on a daily basis. I like this image, because it makes me determined to refine my skills so that I can take OK images on a consistent basis, instead of a how-did-I-get-my-flashes-to-do-that, or what-were-my-settings, basis.

I dislike this image, a lot. But I think I like it, just a little bit more. The image is OK.