A Fresh Start

At the stroke of midnight, we see social media feeds filled with a flood of new year resolutions and “new year – new me” posts.

Having a positive outlook on the upcoming 365 days of the year helps quite a lot to the would be goal digger. Part of the planning however is to sit back, contemplate, and look back on the plans that either pushed through or went awry in the year that was.

2018 was a roller coaster ride for me personally, but at the first day of the year I got the chance to sip on a cup of coffee and took it upon myself to take down notes on what can be improved, avoided, and to venture into. Here are some of those realizations:

Gear

I’ve written countless articles on the various camera brands, bodies, lenses and accessories that gave me an edge on photographing my many assignments. Some faltered through the test of time, but it was to be expected somehow. 2018 was a year I got to discover aerial photography by the use of drones and it was a year filled with various camera brands which had their own pros and cons.

This year however, I am looking forward to finally stop experimentation with different brands and will start to build a system that I will use for the next 5 to 10 years. Camera bodies are updated every 6 months or a year, and with that development, the best investment when it comes to photographic hardware will always be the lenses.

When I was starting out, I would usually bring around my neck a 70-200 f2.8 lens which was big, heavy and a hassle to bring to shoots. These days, I am attaching short lenses on my cameras. I find that having a 23mm,35mm,50mm, and 85mm prime lenses does the job in shooting just about any assignment. 2019 will be literally “a prime” year for me.

Direction

I am quite lucky to be surrounded by amazing people who practice various fields. From make up artists, directors, tourism officers, politicians, stylists, writers, bloggers, models, beauty queens, purpose driven people who have a heart to serve others, and family, the circle that I work with is quite diverse.

There is this familiar quote which says “You are the sum total of the 5 people you hang out with”, and thus, in order for us to make into reality our dreams and aspirations, we should be around people that force us to level up. To elevate ourselves in our craft is not a one man show, it takes a number of people who are dedicated in creating art or creating a voice that seeks to deliver a message.

The previous months that passed by transformed me into an environmental protection advocate. Aspirations from years ago seem laughable when you think about it now, its not technically compromising yourself with the current circumstances in your life but more of an evolution. A change which could become the catalyst to a positive force in the lives of everyone around you.

Love Yourself

After you’ve jotted down the what to do’s for the year, its also a good point to continue the things that made your career or job a happier one. Yes, happy. Success is a maze and to get it, people have to take in a lot of puzzles and problem solving.

But what keeps you going? A warm day off at the beach, or a beautiful sunrise up in the mountains or just simply resting and lazing away in your bed. These may sound so trivial but its what keeps us sane. Love, travel, shopping, family, movies, pets and so much more are simple things that reminds us why we do what we do.

Our passion is mainly for ourselves but when we involve a purpose greater than ourselves, we take a huge step in elevating ourselves . Photographing distant lands, people and their stories most of the time isn’t a glamorous job, it takes time, effort and sacrifice to do so. And passion sometimes fans out because of a lot of factors, but what matters most is that you set those flames of passion on fire again by understanding what keeps you going.  Have time for yourselves.

Happy new year everyone.