Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Time Management, Photography, & Self-Employment




Yesterday I decided to stop what I was doing to do this shot specifically for a photography contest Canon was putting on. I understood that the deadline for entries in the "Obstacles" category was last night at 12:00 AM. The first thing I thought of when it comes to obstacles is time. Here recently it's been my mission to make better use of my time, be more productive, and feel like I'm living up to my potential. I still feel like I'm not accomplishing enough, even on the days that I wake up and do nothing but work until I go to bed again that night.

Well, my idea to illustrate the concept of time being an obstacle was to do a very simple and straightforward photo of a clock. So, I ran to my local Target, bought a clock, brought it back and did this photograph in maybe ten minutes -- not including my time getting out and putting up the gear to do it with. I processed it out and had to stop before I could enter it due to having a friend over for dinner last night. I just planned on entering it after she had left.

Ironically, by the time I sat down to enter it, the contest had been closed. I had raced to get it shot and processed, when there were so many other things I needed to be doing. Time had gotten the best of me -- again. I didn't shoot it with the idea of thinking it would win or even place in the contest. It's really nothing all that unique from a photographic standpoint. I just shot it as a way of expressing myself artistically. I shot it as a way of expressing how extraordinarily difficult it can be to manage your time when you're self-employed. I'm not married, have no kids, no girlfriend -- not even a dog. Yet I still find that there are not enough hours in the day to do all that I'd like to do. So, over the past year or so I've been avoiding or cutting out all sorts of things in my life that can get in the way of photography and where I want to be. Time feels like my biggest enemy right now -- I've wasted far too much of it. I somewhat feel like I've wasted it by taking the time to do this shot since I wasn't able to enter it in the contest as planed, so, me showing it and writing about it here is the only thing that justifies the time I've spent on it at this point.

Maybe I'll sell it as a stock image of a clock to somebody one day and make it all pay off. Anybody out there need a photograph of a clock? Anybody? Anybody? Stock Photography Agencies?  Getty Images? Shutter Stock? Anybody? Know that I'm here for you when you're ready. I'm here for you, and I care about your needs. I do.

Edit: Those of you interested in how I shot this. I wanted it to be somewhat ominous and dark, so I shot at 3200 ISO  to give it more noise or grain, and then lit it with a single light with a 10 degree grid on it just to the right and above the camera to restrict the lighting. I added more noise to it in post production to give it more grit, and that's pretty much it. 

No comments: