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The year is about to end in a few days and I could not help but feel nostalgic of the journey that I have been through. After being with the province of Misamis Oriental as their tourism consultant, I have set off to further expand my knowledge in the different aspects of photography, writing, conservation, and being an entrepreneur. It was a good year, not as epic as I wanted it to be, but good. I’ve learned much from international and local experiences, and I am forever grateful to the mentors, people that supported me, and in a way the detractors who’ve pointed out my flaws. Here are the 4 out of the box lessons I’ve learned this year.

Initao’s Sunset. Photo By Glenn Palacio.
  1. Learn to say No.

In this business, when clients come running to us, we without a doubt instantly say: YES! But hold up, I mean the money is what puts food on the table, but we have to consider ourselves sometimes. Burn outs, mental health issues, and fatigue can be a serious downer in the later parts of your career when you say yes all the time. Money can be found, peace of mind however is a different story. Well some may debate with me on the peace of mind of paying bills, I got nothing against that. I’m only saying that you should pick your battles. Working hard is a must, but working smart is a general rule that people are forgetting these days.

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Paseo de Santiago in Iligan City. Photo by Glenn Palacio.
  • Question Yourself

No matter how many times you’ve amassed praise and compliments from clients and people around you, always try to find your weakness. Competitors or people that don’t like your existence often point that out, and I find it satisfying to prove them wrong by dedicating time and effort on slowly coming up with solutions for that weakness. Always late? Set your alarm 2 hours early. Slow internet and can’t send files? Go to a friend’s house or a mall with fast internet. As the meme goes: Modern problems require modern solutions. People question your capability and from time to time, you should too. There is no growth when all you see is complacency and the contentment of what you can do at that moment. Learn new skills, not only in photography but also in different fields. There is nothing wrong on being bad at something, but there definitely is when you don’t try harder.

Cagayan de Oro’s People of The Sand. Photo by Glenn Palacio.
  • Old Cameras.

I can remember a few years back when I was ridiculed and criticized for having small cameras, well those people who said mean things are now carrying the small cameras around their necks. Ironic right? I’ve never owned a camera that was released on that same year, I do however treasure old cameras rather than the new ones. Sure, the latest models have all the bells and whistles to get the shot. Maybe it’s just me, but I personally prefer not to be reliant on technology. Yes, we embrace its advancements and how it makes photography a lot easier.

However, not all people who own Ferraris are good drivers. I’m not taking away from the cash plenty hobbyists and professionals, but maybe its just me. The old cameras deliver a sense of soul to the photographs they produce. Resolution? Come on, most of your clients will be posting it only on social media (Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to say the least). I’ve never encountered a client that asked me what DPI or sharpness value your images are. Color? Believe it or not, but the older cameras focused more on color. Rather than frames per second or resolution, they created cameras that could bring out rich real-world color (and skin tones too).

Cagayan de Oro’s People of The Sand. Photo by Glenn Palacio.
  • All Is Well

If you’ve never seen the Bollywood movie 3 Idiots, I think its time you come out of where you’re hiding from and learn from the words of advice of Ranchodas Chanchadchad. Life is a race, run it well or get trampled. Thanks to years of repetitive advice, generations are often led to believe that learning anything is done best by memorizing such things.

Prenup shoot at Sinulom Falls in San Isidro, Talakag, Bukidnon. Photo by Glenn Palacio.

When I first started out photography, I was so curious on the symbols, the dials, the terminology, and the theory that I was so excited to try each one everyday. Remember that feeling? How you started out? Well, that is an important feeling because one of these days you’ll encounter people difficult to work with. There will be hard days ahead, days you’ll start to see the large letters of Q-U-I-T stamped everywhere you look. The heart is very easy to feel emotion. Happiness, sadness, and even being scared. When in doubt or afraid of a shoot, calm yourself down and just say: All is Well. As my friends and family from Singapore often say: Trust the process. Lift yourself up when you fall, keep your chin up, pursue excellence in your craft and everything else will follow. Be a person for others and not a person that is others.   

Thank you everyone who was part of my 2019 journey. Cheers to us all!

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