Expectations vs Passion

 

An early rise that morning left me with blurry eyes and a foggy mind. About an hours drive was ahead of me as I headed out expecting to reconnect with and rediscover the wonders of Oklahoma's Tallgrass Prairie. That morning was not to disappoint. It was a morning where expectations and passion combined to generate an iconic capture of a prairie sunrise...an image that captures not only the what and where, but the passionate why I was there.

The sky was mostly still dark when I arrived, yet on the horizon the glow of the coming morning was already filling the void of the night. Gathering my gear, I trudged the half mile or so to a familiar rocky outcropping that overlooked a deep expansive arroyo that was filled with a light misty haze. The air was mostly calm, with just a hint of a breeze that wafted the prairie scent into my senses. The camera set and ready, I waited. The blurry eyes, and foggy mind left me as I anticipated what was about to happen. 

This prairie sunrise seemed to take its time to develop and mesmerized  me into a false sense of being ready. Building to a climax, the sky seemed to suddenly explode, and at that precise moment, I captured the shot of the day. Everything else I made on that trip was secondary to that one single photograph for it exemplified what passion in photography is all about, and it's about the experience of being there.

My expectations that day were that the prairie would present herself in all of her magnificent adornment. My passion is to photograph the Tallgrass Prairie. I enjoy all types of photography, but this single passion is reserved for that one location. It is difficult to express why. Passion is what drives me to return over and over to the same place and still see it as a new experience each time. Expectations are what supports the passion for I understand the potential of what might happen.

Passion is the baseline of expectations. It matters not what your passion is when it comes to photography. The important thing is that you develop one toward which you can pursue this amazing form of art. Without the passion, you possess a simple hobby. With a passion, you possess an emotional outlet for the creative instincts within you.  It pushes you to achieve greater expectations, to experiment with creative ideas, and to refine your instincts beyond what is ordinary to see and observe the world, then capture the essence of what it means to you.

I hope you have enjoyed this short series about Expectations vs Creativity, Instinct, and Passion. Just maybe it will jump start something deeper within your photographic desires.