I really dislike this word. I’ve been told on a number of occasions by friends, relatives, and family that I’m a talented photographer. I don’t believe it for even one minute. Talent has to do with some innate ability to do something better than average. Believe me, photography is not my talent.
I would, however, say that I am well practiced. What you see is the result of 20 years, or so, off and on, of practice, practice, practice, and well, more practice. I shoot 3-5 days per week, even if it means just shooting around the house, or going for a walk with the camera to record what I see. It’s practice for the sake of practice. For the love of the ‘game’.
I remember watching Magic Johnson, Michael Jordon, Larry Bird, et. al. playing. Fantastic players, to be sure. However, none of them especially ‘talented’, but all of them extremely dedicated to practice. They were all first in/last out type of guys. First in the gym, last out of the gym. I remember hearing stories of Larry Bird practicing some 500 shots a day after practice was over, or maybe before practice. Is it any wonder that he was the best shooter in the league? As for Michael Jordon, Andrew Bernstein said it best:
When the teen-age boy, cut from his high school basketball team, practices hours every day before school, he displays his work ethic. When the University of North Carolina hero busts his rear-end at Bobby Knight’s drill-instructor practice sessions in order to win the Olympic gold, he reaffirms this commitment. When the greatest player in the history of basketball continues, at age thirty-five, to out-hustle far younger players—on defense as well as on offense—to lead his aging team to yet another championship, he surpasses the meaning of such concepts as “dedication†and “perseveranceâ€; he sets an example and a standard for which, perhaps, mankind has not yet developed a vocabulary.
Certainly, I don’t compare my work ethic to that of MJ, but I am dedicated to the art/craft. I love to practice. I live, eat, breathe, think, and love photography and do it every single moment that I get to do it and I never seem to tire of it.
It’s the same with photography. I’m sure that most of the masters of photography spent countless hours practicing, trying to bridge the gap between what they saw/envisioned and end product. It’s what I continuously try to do. The word talent, at least for me, seems to discount all of the effort put in by the artist/athlete/writer, etc. instead preferring to attribute the end product to something mythical, magical, and not attainable to all.
In the end, I guess that I would say that ‘talent’ is about overcoming the obstacles. It’s about staying the course and not quitting, even when that inner voice tells you that you don’t have it, so why continue. It’s more about perseverance, dedication, and hard work.
No related posts.
12 Responses to “Talent”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
And passion plays a big part. You have that and it shows in your photographs.
Good post Paul. Talent is definitely developed over time. Perhaps some people click with certain activities more than others, the ‘naturals,’ but no doubt they still have to work at it too.
To Rob’s comment…
Passion is what keeps you going out there 3-5 days a week even when you feel there is nothing worthy of photographing.
Passion and the love of the “game.”
Yes your talent is well developed. But you must have the talent to begin with. For example my kids are “talented musicians” but it took lots and lots and lots of practice to develop that talent. The talent for them is in their ability to hear the music and how they interpret music when they play it, staying in tune, reading the music, applying dynamics, etc. For a photographer such as you, the talent is in how you see the photo before you snap it, understanding light, shadow, and composition, and then how you present it for the rest of us. So the talent is there and it develops through practice.
Lovely photo indeed, from a well developed, talented, photographer!
“YES” you have talent…now if I could learn it…lol. Great pic too.
Im not sure if I agree entirely on with your philosophy of talent and “perfection”.
But I know that you have something about your photos. Telent or practice…whatever it is…its there.
I lot of days I stop by and see what new interesting pictures and post you’ve come up with for the day. But today I had to leave a response because I definately had an opinion on this one. I grew up with a lot of guys that had a lot of determination, hussle, and passion for the game of basketball but the majority of them went on to be great team players and only that. They lacked on thing that kept them from being starters and that was Talent. The players you named all had one thing in common, they were born with talent and through practice and training they perfected their gift. You my friend have the natural ability to see the world through your lens in a much different format than the average person and that truly is a gift. So the next time you hear someone say that ugly word to you (Talent). Continue to be the humble person that you are and accept their compliment as truth. This is what the dictionary had to say about you:
tal·ent [tállənt]
(plural tal·ents)
noun
1. natural ability: an unusual natural ability to do something well, especially in artistic areas that can be developed by training.
gift: a natural ability, especially an artistic ability, or a social skill;
It was truly a humbling experience to be side by side shooting with you and then hear somebody ask if you were a professional and you would always reply: No, I just do it for the love of photography. The next level awaits you when ever you decide you want to claim your place. There are no more bouts for you on this level you are going to hsve to move up to the next level to keep perfecting your gift. I truly thank you for all your help and encouragement, I really do appreciate everything you’ve done.
Ahh comeon Paul, you definitely have “talent” … the innate ability to do something better than average … which is perfected with loads of practise!!!
Lovely lovely shot …. love the Iris with the green hopper …
Wow! Thanks to all of you who posted and for your kind words and thoughtful replies! I sincerely appreciate it. Hey, even Richard the student posted!
Hmmm… you should live with a career graphic artist. Talk about an eye for detail. Then there are always the marketing question and comments.
“Don’t you think that is a bit pedestrian?”
“Well. yeah but…”
Well, back to the old drawing board.
Love the images you posted today. I like the hopped too. Finr macro.
Love this one!!! This was a great find and a well composed image. The colors beg for this one to be displayed.
I agree with you on the dedication and practice. My second daughter was born with a talent for the piano, but she did not become skilled at it without two to three hours of practice every day. Luckily, she has a passion for her natural talent and derives so much pleasure from the skills she is achieving. It has to be a combination of talent and practice to become well skilled.
Talent: 10% inspiration, 90% perspiration…
Well, maybe some additional % technicalities (when talking about digital photography).