you may be already familiar with this story, of the three bricklayers
but this is how it goes:
three bricklayers are asked: "what are you doing?"
the first one says: "I'm laying bricks"
the second says: "I'm building a church"
and the third one says: "I am building the house of god"
this is about having a purpose on what you do
if I were to ask you: why do you photograph? why do you do it?
what would you say? would you have an answer?
I believe that having a purpose, a reason, is crucial in photography
otherwise, we'll be all over the place
with no direction, no idea of what to do next, or why
we might end up getting burnt out
we need a compass, something that points us in the right direction, so we don't get lost
but we also need to figure out how the higher calling applies to smaller chunks of time
this big purpose of mine, what does it look like in the next 12 months?
what can I do in the next 30 days that goes in line with that purpose? and today?
these are all very important questions
and in this video, I want to make you think about them, about your possible answers
and maybe help you answer them, if you haven't yet
this was, by the way, the topic of the last livestream we had over on our patreon page
just a couple of days ago
we hold an almost weekly session where we talk
about topics like this, and all things related to photography
today, I wanted to highlight the work of a fellow photographer
and a great supporter of my work, Terry Olsen
Terry has beautiful imagery on his Flickr page
so please go check it out following the link in the description
thank you so much, Terry, and thank you so much to all my patreons for your support
alright, so let me tell you about me first, because it's the case I know the best, of course
why do I photograph? what am I trying to do here?
I believe that I have a purpose now
this didn't happen all of a sudden, it's evolved over time
it was just a blurry concept a few years ago, but it's becoming clearer and clearer every day
even if it's still changing and evolving, of course
I see now that, for years, I was blind
of course, blind in a metaphorical sense
there was nothing wrong with my eyes or my brain, that I know of
but it's just that I wasn't seeing, I wasn't paying attention
I was just going through the motions, day after day
I was taking a lot of my life for granted, and I didn't appreciate all I had
nature changed all of this
I moved to Oregon, I started to go on hikes, and those experiences kept blowing my mind
I picked up a camera to capture all of that
over time, thanks to that camera,
I was able to bring that sense of wonder and awe into my daily life
even if it was only for a few times a day, I was able to turn
off that autopilot mode and see the beauty in everyday stuff
that was a feeling I wanted to chase and explore more,
and that's why I became a full-time photographer
that is my purpose: to see
no matter where I am, no matter what I'm doing
to wonder, to be able to stand in awe in front of a majestic mountain,
or in front of a tiny and fragile flower
to realize that every day has magical moments that usually go unnoticed
and to notice them
to make every day count
and I know that all of this might sound very cheesy
but photography truly makes me feel alive
I just came back from my morning walk here in town
it felt like a huge adventure,
even though it's just a regular Saturday morning, and I didn't go anywhere
there was a lot of fog, though, and that helped quite a lot
but in any case, I put myself in situations where I would not put myself
if it wasn't for photography
the camera pushes me to go farther
it helps me see things that I hadn't seen before
and seeing those things motivates me to take more photos
it's a cycle that goes on, it's a good cycle
that's why when, for whatever reason, I break that cycle... I lose that momentum
I don't feel good, I feel stuck, I'm not motivated, I'm not inspired anymore
these are the moments when it's very important to have that sense of purpose
to have a clear vision of what we want to do with photography
because it reminds us of why we started, why we do it, and why we will keep doing it
to me, it's just something that feels bigger than myself,
and all I have to do is surrender to that feeling
so for me, what first started as something I did very sporadically just during road trips
then became something that I did every weekend on my hikes
and eventually, it became something that I did every day, it became part of my life
it became a lifestyle
photography used to be something that I did when I was done with the rest of my life
and now it was my life
that's how I acquired, how I got a purpose
this is just my main purpose,
it's a selfish one, it's just for me, to discover and explore the world
there are plenty of other reasons why I do this, as well
I want to share my images with other people because they might enjoy them as much as I do
I also want to inspire others to do with their photography what I do
because I think it can help those people, it can help them see things in a very different way
and to find beauty where they thought there was none before
this is all part of the vision I have of my photography
this is why you are watching this video, this is why this channel exists at all
so that's my purpose, but what's yours?
maybe it's something similar to mine
maybe you want to bring social change
maybe you want to raise awareness
maybe you want to denounce injustice
perhaps you want a way to better remember your life, your loved ones
or maybe you're just doing it for fun, creating for the sake of creating
whatever it is, we should be able to answer that question
because it will be a compass that will guide us in the near future
using that compass, we can translate the big picture to smaller ones
we can bring the big why into our everyday lives
because my purpose of "discovering and exploring the world" is a little bit abstract
it might sound hard to apply to the day-to-day life, right?
how can we do that, when we might be stuck
when we don't have money or time to go places
the key here is to widen our vision, to embrace whatever it is that we have access to
so instead of constantly yearning for majestic landscapes in faraway lands
why don't we give our local woods,
the hill down the road, the vast open space that is a mile away...
the little pond that is behind the mall here in town...
why don't we give those places a try?
because in the end, it all comes down to the attitude that we show towards those places
if we take them as if we were
laying bricks, one on top of the other one, with no meaning whatsoever
we're gonna be constantly disappointed
but if we take it as if we are building something sacred
we're gonna love it, no matter where we are
that's what I try to do with my photography,
and I hope that this comes through in these videos, in this channel
a couple of examples that give me goosebumps that are very local
one of them is a street light down the road, back in Indiana, in the US
that I love to look at, to photograph, at any time of the year
and of course, another example is here, in my hometown in Spain, whenever it's foggy
I'm very lucky because it gets foggy very often here
the whole place becomes magical, and I do not want to be anywhere else when that happens
those are just two examples of places that touch me as much, if not more
than a majestic mountain peak bathed by alpine glow
I'm very serious when I say this
I mean, no matter where we are, we all have sunrises and sunsets
and yeah, they are kind of a cliche in photography
but they feel like magical moments
you might get snow, rain, fog
or if you live in the desert, you might get sandstorms
you might be able to go somewhere at night, to look at the stars
or if you live in a city, there are plenty of buildings around you that are lit up in the dark
okay, you might not have bears, tigers or penguins around
but you might have sheep, dogs or cats
all of those things can be as interesting, if not more, than the obvious ones
and because it takes more effort, it takes more work, they're gonna feel more rewarding as well
when we do get to travel and do exciting things, well...
just imagine how much more we are gonna enjoy those experiences!
how much more we are gonna be able to see in those moments!
it was this whole reframing photography from something I did a few times a year
into something that I do every day, into a lifestyle
trying to recreate what I feel when I visit a stunning location,
or when I experience something very special
in my day-to-day life
that's what changed my photography, my purpose, and my life
I hope to convince you that photography can do this for you as well
if you aren't convinced just yet
I have a few videos coming up from just around here
where I try to find beauty where I didn't think there was any before
so please consider subscribing if you haven't yet
I'd also love to hear your thoughts about this, about your purpose
are you still working on that?
exploring what moves you, what inspires you, what excites you?
or do you already have a clear idea of what you want to do?
please share your story with all of us in the comments down below
as usual, thank you so much for watching, and see you in the next one!