Win Some Cool Camera Gear:
Please leave me a comment below – on how you are going to push your comfort zone!
Crazy 2 weeks:
I spend New Years Eve on a yacht in Sydney harbour with a magnificent view of the harbour bridge and Opera House. The fireworks were amazing but they were quite a challenge to photograph. Here is a quick snapshot I managed to get. I was hoping to blend multiple images together to get something spectacular – but the fact that I was on a moving platform ruled that out. So I decided to shoot a little and enjoy a lot!
Since new years eve I have been working like crazy – and it’s been some of the best times of my life. Jay and Varina arrived in Australia and we got them up to Anna Bay (home) and they started their Landscape Photography Workshop. Everyone loved the workshop, and it opened my eyes to things I had never seen before.
Have you ever heard about focus stacking, and hyperfocal distance? I’ve been shooting landscapes for many years, have sold many large prints plus published a sold-out book, and I have never heard of these things!
New Landscape Photography Course:
After the workshop we really went to work. For the next week Jay, Varina, Johny and I filmed a Complete Landscape Photography Course. It was so much fun, I don’t think I have laughed this much in all of my life! The resulting course is going to be amazing, but you will have to wait another few weeks for us to get through all the footage and put it together for you. It will be worth the wait!
It’s a tough job working in these conditions….LOL
Comfort Zone – Why You Should Get Out of It!
So what has this got to do with your comfort zone?
I challenge you to get out of your comfort zone!
Get uncomfortable, do something that you have been too scared to do.
Why?
Because magic happens when you push yourself and do something that might seem a little scary at first.
What Happened to Me!
When I contacted Jay and Varina and then interviewed them, I was scared, and totally uncomfortable. This was pushing my comfort zone to the limit, but I did it anyway (I almost chickened out) and I totally connected with these photographers who are passionate about what they do (just like me). It felt like I was talking to my photographer buddies (Now, after spending 11 days together, I consider them to be my close friends!)
One minute we are chatting on Skype and then just a few months later, they are staying with me in Australia – half way around the word.
And then we took it one step further…
We used our combined skills and creative energy to create an amazing new photography course – which everyone who is interested in landscape photography will benefit from.
How cool is that! And we got to hang out a lot – (BTW they are really cool people, and they work really hard, and are super knowledgeable about landscape photography.)
And this would never have happened if I had not pushed my comfort zone!
My Challenge to You!
What could you achieve if you got out of your comfort zone? What have you wanted to do but have been too afraid to do?
Please leave me a comment below and let me know what you are going to do to push your comfort zone. (You are more likely to do it, if you leave a comment that me and other people can read). B
I have wanted to get into architectural photography for awhile and I am teaming up with my real estate friend who is going to let me tag along. Also, I would like to do more portraits.
Go for it Amy. I started with real-estate photography in my area and it was a great way to make a living doing photography. Cheers, Brent
For the architecture photography is there a certain type of lens I should use. I have a Canon T3 and was thinking of use my 50 mms lens. Thanks!
For a long time now I have always wanted to work with a professional model. Having never done so in the past I was extremely worried that I might not be up to the task. So…I decided to join a website called Purpleport where models, photographers, MUA, Stylists can network and get together and produce some wonderful work. When I joined the site I became even more worried as the quality of most of the work was tremendous. My wife (Julie) encouraged me to book a shoot…so I did and it was a cracking experience, I learned so much, the model was brilliant, so patient (thank goodness!) and I ended up with some really nice images, it’s got me wanting to do more. So, my advice would be to get out there and do it…you only live once!
I would like to thank Brent for his videos they are superb…keep them coming, they are a great source of inspiration and education, a BIG thank you.
Well done Chris, I know how scary it can be to work with a pro model for the first time. That is why I created the flow-pose course and my other fine-art model courses. Once you take that first step you probably realise that most of the fear just goes away – the hardest part is taking the first step. Keep shooting, and send me a few pics so that I can see what you are creating. Brent
Hey, Brent
Of course I would like to win the camera gear therefore this “reply”.
Comfort zone, not afraid of wet feet and dirty shoes. Photograph not only the beach but also encourage walking into the sea. Note care about the aperatuur .
Always try something new with two persons, one person watching out and keep list so that no hazardous condition. Let the second person for example, pay attention that there are no wild animals to come up short. During the shooting of “wild live” you are soon completely fixated on the shot to make you forget about the environment. very dangerous course, now lets just that one lion that you had not seen don’t want any photographers in his environment.
Grtz. Bob
Hi Bob, you don’t need to reply to win the camera bag full of gear – just click on the link and register here http://www.indurogear.com/patels/ Cheers, Brent
Hi Brent! Love your emails and tips – keep them coming…heading out of my comfort zone this weekend (normally Pet photography) I’m going light painting out in Central Western NSW – I don’t know much about long exposure photography yet but am keen to learn from a friend of mine from the local camera club. With his help and yours online I’m super lucky! I’m enjoying your introductory online course as well as your email tips – thanks so much for your inspiration 🙂
My pleasure Kate. Enjoy the light painting! I went out with Jay and Varina last week and did the same – it was an awesome experience. Brent
Well for Brent it just might be as simple as putting together my own web site
yes going a step further than just posting pics on Facebook, or RedBubble.and birding forums
not so daunting for some, but me yes, a bit like standing near the waters edge, dipping in your toe and not going any further, why ?? well will it be worth it ??, will people get the same joy as me when I capture an image of a wild creature ?? do I charge ?? do I print , would I make it ?? I have the passion am I good enough ?? can I make my dream come alive ?? if so whats the first step or big plunge 🙂 Do I need a mentor to help push and guide me 🙂 cheers Rick
There are even more “what if” questions you can ask yourself. My question to you is What if you did it? What could happen? What if you never tried? What if you succeed? What if someone else likes you stuff and you connect with other who have the same passion?
What are you waiting for? B
A push in the right direction 🙂 lol
Thanks Rick. B
I would be very interested in your trek to Africa…it has been on my mind for a couple years and I can’t wait to go. Please keep me posted…thanks, you are awesome!
I have been taking photography classes/and online lessons for several years. Now I feel as though I’m in a rut. It is time to try something new and have found that I have a passion for photographing wildlife in their own habitat. To get out of my comfort zone last October I did a Wildlife Workshop in Montana. Wow, what a thrill and the animals that we all got to photograph was amazing. I will be going back to Montana in July to photograph the babies… Can’t wait, it will be so much fun.
Thanks Brent for all your eye opening tips.
No worries – you should join me when I go to Africa next (might be in September). Brent
I worked out a few years ago that I had lost who I was. I did everything for everyone around me. Caring for my ill grandmother, caring for my two children and attending to their additional needs. My husband and supporting his interests. There was no time for me and no support for anything I was interested in. Life’s events led to my marriage breaking down and my grandmother passing away. I realised I didn’t know how to have fun. How sad. My family were involved in riding motorbikes. So I took it up. I never imagined in my life, someone who was sensible and never did anything risky was taking up dirt bike riding! I took the leap and have never looked back. Sure the threat of being spat off and breaking bones is there, but you feel alive, two wheels don’t move the body, it moves the soul. The people I would have never met otherwise, have enriched my life. It inspired me to buy my first SLR ( I thought I knew everything about photos ) Huh did that prove me wrong! With my new found lease and outlook on life I have recently purchased new Canon Gear. It has once again showed me I have much to learn. I am turning the dial further up. I feel so at home when I have a camera in my hands. Frustration at not replicating what I see. I hope to prevail. I am in a good place. I have worked very hard on my marriage, when it was easy to walk away. We have a new respect for one another and love our children. Riding when I can, reading, watching videos etc and practicing with the camera. May life continue on a positive path for you all
Glad you got out of your comfort zone! Keep going out of it. Brent
I will be taking a head first dive out of my comfort zone in about 6 months. I will be graduating from college and will be opening my own chiropractic office. Just to make sure that I make myself completely crazy I am trying to work out the details of starting a for-profit charity that focuses on children. I hope to put together a coffee table book of socially relevant photographs that I can sell with as much of the profits as possible going to help kids in some way. Obviously this idea is in its infancy. I have a concept of who and what style of photos I want to take but being a beginner in the world of photography I am still learning even the basics. I hope to get this going in conjunction with my office if not sooner.
Well done Joshua. You go for it!
It’s also important to write down your vision – or make a dreamboard like I have – it keeps your vision clear when you hit your first obstacles. Oh, and BTW, you will hit the most obstacles (resistance) right before you have a major breakthrough. This happens to me every time, so now I get excited when I’m confronted with a lot of resistance, because it means that I’m getting very close to the finish line! B
I’ve been doing photography for years now, but only as a hobyist. I’ve wanted to pursue it professionally. I have taken courses, attended boot camps, joined photo groups and entered competions. I have been researching the business aspect for well over a year and talked about creating a website and making business cards. I am most interested in senior portraits. Seniors are so fun to be around. They have so much going on and they are really energetic about their lives. The reality is that if I do get a website going and hand out business cards then someone might want to hire me. This both thrills me and terrifies me. Nothing will happen as long as I do nothing so I am stepping out of my comfort zone and starting that website within the next two week. YIKES! Wish me luck!
The hardest part is taking that first step. B
I would like to take my daughter’s senior photos this summer. I wanted to take my son’s photos 3 years ago but was too afraid they would not measure up to all the professional ones submitted. I love to take photos from the creative aspects, but all the technical stuff is still a bit confusing. I know I could do this if I could get past my fear and gain confidence in my skills.
I upgraded my camera over a year ago and have taken a class at the local shop. I continue to read and practice to get more proficient. I’ve learned a lot and my camera gear is growing. I enjoy photographing landscapes the most. My daughter and I have been scouting out locations and have practiced some poses and candid shots. I know I need to get moving on this goal not only for her but for me too.
So I decided I can’t procrastinate any longer because time in running out. I signed up in December with online courses with Brent to get more comfortable with the skills needed in photography. I am currently learning Light room 5 and Photoshop. I received my tripod so no more excuses. I am getting more excited to see how my skills develop by summer as things are starting to progress. Just with the few classes I’ve had so far, a friend wants some of my photos for their office. Wow! Can’t imagine what this could lead to if I keep pushing myself outside my comfort level.
Well done Deanna! Once you master the technical stuff with your camera gear, then you can become a true artist.
You camera is only a tool – a tool to help get your vision across for others to enjoy.
I know it can seem really complex when you first start – aperture, shutter speed, ISO, focal length – but if you have taken my Essential Photography Skills and read my eBook it should start to make sense soon.
Enjoy the journey to becoming an artist!
Brent
Oy! My entire life is outside my comfort zone for the last four months, and I continue pushing that boundary. Last May, I attended a workshop where I had the epiphany that life is too short not to live my joy. So in August, I didn’t just step outside my comfort zone, I ran full speed and leapt out of it! I told my employer I wanted to move back to California…where my heart and soul were.
Very long story short: although I was promised this was an option 3 years ago when I moved to Wisconsin, I was essentially shown the door…after 14 years of service. To be fair, I was given the option to keep my job if I fully committed to the company and gave up on the idea of moving home. In other words, I could sell my soul.
Again, I took a running jump and stuck to my guns…That looked like saying goodbye to security as I knew it, and moving without a safety net (new job/savings). I took the no longer proverbial, but very real, leap of faith in October and moved home to LA.
Fast forward to now, and I’m once again faced with a life changing decision: taking my six year relationship back a step to reevaluate it. I’m making the choice not to get another place with my boyfriend, and instead moving in with my dad while I create a new life for myself. I’m still looking for “heart work” – a job doing what makes me happy – and I’m terrified at all the changes. But I’m learning in no uncertain terms that life happens outside the zone.
The comfort zone is predictable and easy, but it is not the joy filled path. Granted, life has not been joyful the last four months, it’s been downright stressful and terrifying, and yet I know I am making the right choices for my chosen end game – living a life I love and am passionate about. I have to keep thinking that I will look back on all this with a smile, knowing that the amazing life I’m living would not have been possible had I not done all these crazy things. In the meantime, however, it’s a mean time. 😉 And I’m getting through it..
Thanks for opening your heart Christin. Sounds like you have had a rough few months.
I would look at it this way…
Many years from now, would you regret not following your dreams and staying at the “safety net” job and life?
I faced this delemma over a decade ago, should I follow my dreams of photography and creating beauty for me and others to enjoy – or should I stick to engineering, and earn a good living for my family.
I took the uncertain, scary road of following my dream.
At first I was stressed.
Then I realised that I was free…
…and with freedom comes all possibilities, you just need to get the creative juices flowing and anything can happen.
Only you know what you were meant to do. There is something that you can do better than anyone else, that will make you happy.
Go for it! B
For decades I have dreamed of owning and operating some sort of unique eating establishment, but have just never felt confident enough to leave my comfort zone of the steady job that I have had for over 35 years. If I could make a living preparing food that other people would enjoy, I would never want for another thing in life! I have no formal training, and have never worked in food service, so the entire notion of leaving my dreary 9-5 has always seemed like too much of a gamble…add to that, watching other small restaurants come and go with few ever making it past the first year leaves me cold.
As the years have ticked away, I have long since given up any hope of my dream becoming a reality… I consider myself lucky that I am able to be an amateur chef for family and friends. Every year, we spend our summers in a very special campground in Gould, CO and I have a large captive group that I can try new recipes on! More than anything, I would choose to own a business there, where I could cook for the small community that I love so much.
Great dream Vicki – do not let it go! To manage the risk there are a few things you can do.
1. Buy an established restaurant – one where you have financial records for a few years. Much better chance at success!
2. Get a coach/mentor who has already made it in that field – not someone who thinks they know how to make it. Someone who genuinely wants to help you succeed.
3. Do both above.
Good luck – and follow that dream. Brent
What I’d love to do, and am envious when I see people doing it, is kiteboarding. I think the adrenaline rush, the feeling of flying across water and getting some air would be AMAZING!! You’d know 😉 I get excited just watching people kiteboarding and get super excited when they get serious air with jumps!
The reason why I’m afraid is because I’m not a strong swimmer, I can swim enough to stay afloat but I can’t do laps of a pool. I’ve wakeboarded and loved that. Wakeboarding has the security of a life jacket and a boat pulling you (controlled). Kiteboarding you’re out in the ocean with the waves, no life jacket and the strong wind therefore I’m scared of getting blown out to sea oh and sharks…hahahaha. But in saying that, we use to wakeboard in a dam that had crocs 😉 That was scary too when you fell off as you felt like a sitting duck in water waiting for minute or two until the boat to collected you 😉
At the end of last year I did actually sign up for a free kiteboarding lesson in Newcastle, and was all set to go but unfortunately it was cancelled last minute due to bad weather. It was Ben Wilson Surf doing the promo and they were only in Newcastle for that day (which was cancelled). The other thing that stops me (in addition to fear) is the outlay involved in the equipment, especially if I don’t know if I can do it or would like it.
I know anything is possible, and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone you achieve amazing things as I’ve done this with other things in my life 🙂 I know that if I wanted more than anything else to be able to kiteboard that I could, obviously right now it’s I’m comfortable with it remaining a dream. 😉
Kiteboarding is even more fun than it looks! Total freedom IMHO – but make sure you are safe when you learn, get lessons.
I would manage your fear – not a strong swimmer – by learning in shallow water like at Bagnalls beach where you can stand.
Thanks for opening up here Yagoda. Cheers, Brent
Thank you for your reply and suggestions. Bagnalls does seem less daunting than the surf at Fingal and Birubi for a L plater 😉 This thought (re Bagnalls) is already decreasing my fear factor. Now if I can wear a lifejacket and have a personal trainer (kite trainer) then i’d be set 😉 It’s all about mind over matter.
Below is extracts from a poem I received as a teenager. It has always stayed with me and helped me achieve many things in my life:
If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you’d like to win, but think you can’t
It’s almost a certain you won’t….
………….
Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But sooner or later the man who wins
Is the one who thinks he can.
If you’d like the full poem I can send it to you.
Great story you shared about Varina and Jay. Now you have a beautiful friendship with similar spirited souls. Very special.
Thanks Yagoda. B