A Turning Point

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Long ago, I heard a very good phrase: “You have to create yourself, not to search for yourself”. When I became keen on photography as a mature man, at the age of 34, I couldn't photograph at all. Of course, my first works looked primitive, cheap and far from being interesting. But even then, I realized that I wanted not just to photograph, but to do it better than anyone else I knew. Achieving this goal involved a lot of learning: I studied the best photo works by popular photographers, attended various workshops and watched hundreds of tutorials. And, of course, I kept photographing time and again.

I gradually accumulated and expanded my knowledge. I was overloaded with theory, but my photos were still not much better than when I'd just started. I didn't succeed to put the acquired knowledge to practice. At times, I would really worry during the photo shoots, make a lot of mistakes and be unable to technically implement my ideas. 

Then, during the “Сontemplation” photo shoot, I experienced something crucial. My eyes as if got opened. I saw, realized, felt how to take this shot: shot arrangement, model's position, angle, light, dynamics, mood. I seemed to have developed the sixth sense, which I'd had no idea about.

I finished this photo shoot. Then I slightly retouched the photos and uploaded them to several photo resources. The next day, I logged on these websites and saw that ALL these resources had rated the “Girl with a suitcase” as a photo of the day!

As I was reading through hundreds of positive feedbacks, I was smiling and tears were running down my cheeks. I realized I'd created myself as a photographer. “I finally succeeded!” I thought. The knowledge I'd accumulated found its application, and it was worth it. On that very day, I was fully aware of the fact that that photo was a start of my journey as a photographer.