Time to Transform

It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. — Albert Einstein

It’s that time of year when one dark day can push you over the edge. It’s always been tough to make your living as an artist, but it seems even harder in recent days. We all know the economy is on the brink of disaster. Technology is decreasing the entry threshold into photography and society is struggling to understand the differences between a weekend hobbyist and a professional.

Technology is depressing. I tire of technology, especially when it fails and it seems to do THAT more often than not. Where technology does work, human greed steps in and it breaks again. Is this the nature of technology from this point forward? Will we ever find balance in our lives and satisfaction? Will we figure out that merely having the technology to create a great exposure does not mean we have created anything of substance?

My brand new Apple Mac Pro is stunningly fast and I utilize every ounce of speed it has to offer. But I’ve already had to replace the logic board and power supply. Countless hours of troubleshooting, waiting on hold to talk to tech support. Setting up appointments to have a technician evaluate the problem. Hours of lost production. Hours of my life I’d like to have spent doing something, anything but watch the endless blue task bars.

There are so many extremely talented photographers who usually inspire me. Lately, I find myself trying to figure out my place in all of this. So much incredible work and so many talented artists. Never in the history of the world have we had access to so much information. I can’t help but wonder if all of this exposure is numbing us to the value of the art form. All of this has given me great pause and for that reason, I’ve been stalled with my blog. In the midst of this darkness, I stumbled upon the voice of a fellow artist. A call to transformation by Zack Arias. If this touches you, be sure to comment. Signal & Noise by Zack Arias

This Post Has 10 Comments

  1. kristen

    Wow. This video is so inspiring. I couldn’t have said it better. Our voice is the most powerful tool we have – whether we express it in words or images. What a great message. Thanks for sharing.

  2. Great reminder Randy to remember that we have a good life not having to watch the clock for our lunch break, just keep working, be patient and maybe one day we’ll be visited by the “genius fairy” and we wont’ suck so much.

  3. Must be a Nikon thing! 🙂

  4. Kevin Focht

    Very nice. As photographers I think we are all searching for something. It will never be found because when we do we will want to find the next thing. It’s a big circle and it never ends.

    We really are lucky to be doing what we are doing. We should all be proud that we are making a living in a very hard profession to do that in.

  5. Oh Randy, thanks so very much for your real, honest, transparent posts. You’re an amazing person and a true artist and I’m so fortunate to know you. Zach’s video is stunning – thanks for sharing such a gift.

  6. Jennifer

    Well, it is refreshing to know that we have all “sucked” at one point or another. I guess it is pushing through the crap that sucks the life out of us so we can be reborn and see life again with a new set of eyes and a fresh perspective. It’s keeping in mind that “this too shall pass” and if we have the courage to persevere we will come out on the other side “sucking” a little less.

  7. Thank you so much for sharing that video, Randy!

    I have some goals and mountains to climb with my photography this year, but my photography is not what defines me. Is it a part of the whole? Of course. But there is so much more to life. Zac’s video was very empowering.

  8. I love this post. My wife, Meghan, and I have been talking about the subject of all this endless information we have at our fingertips. I took her to see some redwood trees this weekend while we were in California. While this was the first time she has seen them in person, she has seen photos and video of them. We talked about how we can pick up our phone and know about anything we want information on. The ability to explore and find something new in this world is all but over.

    Yet… we don’t know how we go on without our Internet!

    Thanks for the link. I’m glad you enjoyed the video.

    Cheers,
    Zack

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