The upside of aging

“I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity.” – Albert Einstein

I will be turning 50 in a few months. Instead of lamenting the impending doom of reaching another milestone of aging, I find myself embracing the confidence that comes from getting older. Nowadays, I find myself feeling comfortable in my own skin and am ready to own up to the decisions I make at any moment. I feel the work I have done with my photography during the past two years are certainly reflective of my confidence. It is certainly a welcoming sign when I see my own voice showing up without any hesitation nowadays.

When I first started pursuing photography, I was blown away by some of the work I saw on the internet. I aspired to create at the same level as some of the photographers I admired. Instead of thinking what I wanted to create, I started copying other people’s visions. It was natural my futile attempts didn’t match up to the quality work produced by the people who came before me. Instead of feeling proud of what I produced, often times I felt my work were pale imitations of what other people had already accomplished. Being a clone was certainly not something I set out to do when I started on this journey of pursuing photography.

When we spend so much time looking at other people’s work, and being in awe of them, we risk stunning our own growth as we never give the space for our own voice to develop. When we are beginners, it makes perfect sense to follow in on other people’s footsteps as we still are in the stage of learning the basic skills. But once we reach the basic threshold, it is essential to step out of others’ shadows and brave our own path. When we blindly follow what has come before us, we will not find the fulfillment from satisfying our own palette. The world doesn’t need so many clones. There are always room for new ideas and new ways of expression.

The less I look at different sources of photography for inspiration, the more I build my own skills to see and interpret the world around me. By not feeling the need to fit in and follow, I find myself being afforded more freedom to express my point of view. Instead of choosing to walk a proven path just so I can have guaranteed success, I rather fail spectacularly knowing I make the work that speaks of who I am.