Maybe you don't need to go to the summit (Why solitary photographers get the best shots)

Took a hike the other day. Pleasant little sojourn into the wilderness.  Had an enjoyable time. Really got the opportunity to relax and enjoy the company of some people. See a different side that you don’t get often in your normal day to day activities, all filled in place with gorgeous views

 Totally useless for shooting pictures though. How so? Because photography and not snapshots require you think about what you want to shoot. It’s a deliberate act that comes from understanding what you’re seeing and how it will be captured on your image. This requires some quiet time.  Well some may recoil at the thought that they would have to stop talking and start looking deeper in to the scene to get a shot.  But really why are you there in the wilderness? Doesn’t it to take some time to not be in rush, to not be worried about the destination. It’s not about arriving at a point It’s not about the journey, it’s about being in the moment. Enjoying each moment not the pursuit of the “summit”. It’s true you want to get to the summit but I would argue there may be a lot more beautiful moments other than just the top. In fact the top of things is often times far more “appealing” from a Google Earth view than from where I ascend.

Here is the thing, if your just marching along you can’t notice the things you could see the same as if you just stop sometimes when there is nothing to see and just breathing. Sometimes you just need to stop. Forget your agenda, Stop without a plan as to what to see, Stop with the time crunch , Stop worrying if there is a picture to be made. Just breathe…. Just take it all in. We are sometimes privileged to live on this glorious place called earth and the things we see we may never see again and isn’t that worth stopping for.

When you give yourself a break with no agenda you will see the place with new eyes that may lead you in a direction you had never considered and that may mean you’re a little less social, a smaller group  but a richer and deeper understanding of what it is your trying capture.  Your goal should not be a image to be discarded but an image you can return to over the YEARS and that takes a little patience to see what that is.