Developing a Place to Start

The start is what stops most people. – Don Shula

Earlier this week I was on my way into the church for a breakfast meeting and heard the hooting of a nearby owl. I looked up and found the bird perched atop the cross. As luck would have it, I had my camera in hand, so after dropping my bags off in the parish hall I stepped outside and looked for a decent vantage point from which to take my shot.

I set the camera as best I could for the early morning darkness and fired off a couple of quick snaps before the bird flew away. I never could get him or her to look at me straight on, but the composition wasn’t bad.

I transferred the pictures onto my computer and noticed that one was definitely out of focus, while the others had focused satisfactorily. Unfortunately, the lighting wasn’t good, and so the pictures are mediocre at best.

That’s the problem with being a snap-shooting photographer. I can take snapshots, and some are passably nice to look at, but I am certainly not a professional. I can point and click, but no one working for National Geographic will ever fear for their job with me on the hunt.

I would like to be a photographer – not at a money-making level – but I would like to be able to see a scene and record it with sufficient aplomb to know I got what I wanted, and not just “cross my fingers and hope for the best”.

So, what stops me from improving my skills?

The “start” is what stops me.

I looked at my camera’s basic operating manual, and while the words appear to be English, I don’t know what they’re telling me. I don’t need a book, you see; I need a guide or a mentor. I need someone with skills and experience who can walk me through the various disciplines of photography and show me, not just how a camera works, but the whys and wherefores of the craft’s light and magic.

The good news is that there are people like that. I have them in church. I have them for neighbors. They are also available in the local school’s adult education program. The resources are all around me. The sole limitation is my getting from “want to” to the “doing”. I need to stop stalling out at the start.

It seems that much of life is like that. Many of us have things we say we want to do; places we want to go; and people we want to meet, but we can’t seem to get past the start. We want to weigh less; it is far easier to simply stay off the scale than to start watching what we eat, or to start exercising more.

We want to retire as millionaires, but we can’t save money as long as there’s a rifle we’ve always wanted, or that sweet pair of boots, shiny new truck, or super computer sitting on the shelf.

Getting past the start – that’s where so many of us get stuck, but as someone once said, “The main cause for failure and unhappiness is trading what you want most for what you want at the moment.”

Maybe we need to find the gumption to delay momentary gratification long enough to let the urge pass, and then to take the steps necessary to accomplish what we really want.

Maybe, instead of putting together a wish list for Christmas, we could put together an action list. It doesn’t have to be a bucket list, but hopefully it will get you beyond the pail (pun intended).

Maybe I will sign up for that photography class after all – then see what develops in this, our valley.