Early morning surf.
A lot of people consider Labor Day to be the end of summer, but for me the next month or so is the best time to be at the shore.
Sunday, September 6, 2015 (Day 249)
Time to relax.
I was driving to the location I had planned to shoot this morning, but as I was driving on the Rt 35 bridge over the Manasquan River I happened to glance over and see this scene. It hit me a certain way because the scene was so calm. I kept driving for a few minutes but the thought of this scene kept nagging at me. So eventually I decided to turn around and head back. I’m glad I did. Sometimes you have to trust your intuition.
Saturday, September 5, 2015 (Day 248)
The sun is a lightbulb. Often your best ideas are the ones that are right in front of you–the ones you don’t have to think too much about. You don’t have to wait for some amazing idea to hit you from out of the blue like a bolt of lightning. Take a look at your life and the things you are good at and the things that are important to you. You can find a great idea somewhere in there. Think about what is possible for you given your current situation. Of course, people will tell you anything is possible, and while that may be true, I’m talking about what is possible right now at the present moment. Pick something and run with it. It will lead to greater things down the road and open doors you didn’t even know existed.
Friday, September 4, 2014 (Day 247)
Know when to walk away.
Upon waking up this morning, I saw that it was going to be hazy again, as it has been all week. That was a bit disappointing to see, and I was trying to think of a way to avoid photographing the sun in a hazy orange sky yet again. I decided to head out a bit earlier to see if I could catch some early color. It worked. I only took a handful of quick shots from this location. Then I looked at my watch and saw it was at least 30 minutes earlier than my shots from the past few days, and I knew there would be some good shots to be had in a little while as the sun broke the horizon. But I walked away. I was happy with the photo you see here, so I decided to go home and savor my extra free time for today.
There are two types of people: maximizers and satisficers. Maximizers try to get everything perfect, and they take a long time to do things because they wait for better opportunities for fear of missing out. Satisficers move quickly because they only wait for an option that meets all their criteria and move on without caring if there is something better because they are satisfied. I’ve always been a huge maximizer, but this project has taught me to be more of a satisficer. And by the way, guess which people live longer? That’s right–satisficers.
Thursday, September 3, 2015 (Day 246)
The hazy orange sky was a bit of a challenge today. The sky has looked pretty much the same for the past few mornings. I was feeling discouraged this morning as I struggled to find an interesting way to experience and depict this morning’s sunrise. Nothing seemed to look right, and as a result I held back from shooting for quite a while. Eventually I decided to just start shooting, figuring that eventually something would emerge. I walked around shooting as much as I could, and eventually I found my scene. It was my final photo of the morning.
When you’re faced with a less than ideal situation, sometimes just simply pushing forward and forcing yourself to go through the motions will help you eventually get to a better than expected outcome. Woody Allen once said, “80 percent of success is just showing up”. So don’t hesitate. Show up.