A Competition

A few weeks ago I had to call 911 for the first (and hopefully last) time in my life. I was exiting the Sprouts Market in Burbank when a distraught woman in her late 20s flagged me down. She had locked her 3 month old baby in her car, along with her keys and cellphone. I tried to calm her down a little bit but aside from breaking a car window there wasn't much I could do. She tried calling her husband with my phone but he didn't answer. I told her, "I think we should call the police." So, I called 911 and everything seemed to go smoothly. After about 5 minutes a cop showed up, though I actually called 911 twice because it seemed like they were taking forever. He walked around the car checking the doors the same way I did and then called a tow truck who showed up a few minutes later. The tow truck man took out some tools and 30 seconds later the door was open and the baby was back in its mother's arms (on a side note it is way too easy to break into a locked car if you have the right tools). The baby was totally fine and slept through the whole thing.

Now, I certainly don't wish anyone the same panic as the mother had when she locked her baby in the car either, and I certainly don't want to have to call the cops on a daily basis just to get a kick during the day,  but this little event taught me something about myself.

I'm going to be honest. Day in and day out I tend to do the same thing. I'm predictable. I wake up at 5:15AM and leave for work at 6:25AM. I spend my day behind a computer and then commute home through the same Hollywood traffic at relatively the same time each day. If someone wanted to assassinate me, it would be easy.

However, today I declare a change. No, this doesn't mean I'm quitting my job and traveling around the world. This simply means I'm up for a little challenge as I navigate my way through the day to day.

Today's adventure is this post. Let's try something new.

I haven't been sharing that many pictures lately, and I don't know why. I have a camera. I have software. I have a website. All the tools are here, but yet no pictures are shared. Sometimes I wonder if it's because photography has become too easy. Not too easy to take pictures, but maybe instead too easy to take a picture and share it. Have pictures lost their magic? Where is the challenge in it all if everyone is doing it?

I think that's where perhaps I'm just approaching it all wrong. Perhaps I'm seeing the world of photography as a competition. Am I that jealous photographer? It's like that joke about modern art.

Person A and Person B are viewing modern art.

  • Person A: "I could do that."
  • Person B: "Yeah, but you didn't."

It's my own choice to follow photographers on Instagram. I choose to follow their blogs. Yet, do I have to compare myself to them? No, I don't. Do I have to compete for their clients? No, I don't. I simply have to go out and take my own pictures. That's all I can ever do.

So back to me and predictability...

Andy RiddleComment