Reflection is the key to personal growth, and you are a brave man to reflect so publicly. Good luck with your book, I’m looking forward to it! I’m Happy to support it.
4 months ago | 4
I'm convinced that curiosity is the most important trait for a successful person to have. Sounds like you value that too. Best of luck!
4 months ago | 1
I have been watching your videos since I got my new used camera (NikonD7500) last summer. I've always liked photo projects but having this camera has been life changing. I take pictures of my grandkids middle school sports. I take them of all the kids and post them in an album on Facebook for them to upload for free. I'm 61, and this makes me happy to give them away. The middle school AD gave me a all league pass to allow the school to use some pictures for the middle school yearbook. Just start somewhere and things happen. Your book will be amazing. Thanks for all the inspiration!
4 months ago | 1
Beautifully put fella. Thank you for everything and putting so much out for us to learn from.
4 months ago | 0
Something to bookmark! I’m not successful like you are but and I’m still torn by the risks, because no one, really no one person of my family has taken any risk in their life’s. We tend to be what we expect to be, stay the same. But I really struggle to fight for my Why, and that’s a huge drawback for moving on. Well, I wish you the best.
4 months ago | 0
Hey Jared, thanks for sharing! Hope to see you and have a chat with you one day. I'm from Venice. Cheers
4 months ago | 0
Whoa, took me a minute to read it lol. I guess my dad is a little like your grandfather. I never thought of flipping the role on him and asking him if he would accept my lack of trying for XYZ reason. What a great philosophical question, you've given me some homework to work on because while I think I know myself it would be good to write it down in my journal for me to see the changes over the years.
4 months ago | 0
Dear Jared, have u ever reviewed Fujifilm XT-5? If yes please send the link. Actually recently I subscribed to your channel. I like your videos too much. As it's very useful and informative. Pls reply ASAP. Thanks
4 months ago | 0
Don’t let Nikon shooters bully you Jared, they can’t accept “Facts”. Great content! 👍
4 months ago | 5
You're at a reflective point in your life, and it's a good thing to brain dump thoughts like that. If you haven't already, go find Simon Sinek and his TED Talk, titled "Start with Why" and spend 18 minutes. He codified why better than anyone I've heard. You can know who you are, and I think you do, but codifying it on paper helps. Best wishes on Book 2 and congratulations.
4 months ago | 0
So your switching to Pentax? There's easier ways to tell us! Nevermind, keep being you, that's why we are here, and thanks for sharing the journey
4 months ago (edited) | 0
Good Afternoon Jared, I recently sent you an email, with an up to date web site of my ongoing practice. - If there is one thing I'd love this Christmas is everyone recorded there white balance, I use a pop out easy balance every time I use my Camera even in the middle of an indoor city centre hall! In 2009 there was a few photographers that had produced videos on white balance and then 1 or 2 that had produced videos recording white balance at the time using my EOS 450D, I made it a part of my routine and have never changed since (reset the settings record white balance) - with easy balance (Amazon £20). If improved my resolution and colour my about 35% in almost every instance, I'm sure its improved now a little. When you record a colour without precise colour recording you fill the well with activity / a slight colour cast reducing colour performance and resolution. (Any sensor activity that does not match the frequency's of the scene will reduce overall performance, the white balance recorded outside with 14 bit - 12bit tones that are present in the light can really make for an interesting white balance when you shoot indoors. have a lovely time this Christmas, God Bless America - www.photocrafts.work
4 months ago | 0
Jared Polin
What are we, what do we do and why do we do it? I’ve heard people say you need to figure out what your “why” is. I guess it has to do with, if you know your “why”, then you at least of a target to aim for. It’s certainly not easy, in fact it can be complicated as you try to answer the question. In one way you want this, in another way you want that. And you find yourself lost or stuck trying to define your “why”, even though deep down inside you know exactly what it is…you’ve just never defined it.
I have a pretty good handle on who I am, what I do and sort of why I do it. I am me. I know that’s brief, but I am who I am. Now just because I know who I am, that doesn’t mean I want to stay the same person as I am today. I want to evolve, I want to learn, I want to grow, but I also don’t want to lose me, whatever me really means. “I'd rather be a hypocrite than the same person forever.” was said by Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys. How many people do you know who stay stuck because they refuse to change. We all change, we all evolve. Views we have today might not be the same views we have tomorrow. I think knowing that you can change and evolve is powerful. I know I don’t want to be the same person forever.
I grew up with a grandfather who said he “was too dumb to learn”. Fuck That, is all I think when I hear that. I got in trouble my entire life for not giving into dumb statements like that just because he was my grandfather. I had family members defend that mentality and tell me to “just do it for him” he wont change. Fuck That I thought. It’s like dealing with a child, do you think a parent would let me get away with saying something like that and not even trying? I think that’s the part that upset me the most, the not trying.
All I ask is that you try, you take interest, you give it your best shot. You don’t wimp out with some lame line like “I’m too dumb to learn”. And you know what, all the people around him enabled this mentality. The truth is, he was no dummy, he was well liked, had a huge social circle of extremely successful people, but I always wonder if he held himself back and why he held himself back. I know he didn’t take a lot of risks in life. Maybe it’s because he was part of the “Great Generation” and they didn’t take as many risks. Or maybe it was just who he was, because plenty of his friends took big risks and reaped BIG rewards. I honestly have no idea why I went this direction, but I think it has to do something with me framing my “why”.
Dare I say my “why” is rooted in selfishness? Well I said it and I know it’s true. I do look out for myself, and I am self aware most of the time. But don’t mistake that selfishness for a lack of caring for others. Part of my “why” is rooted in helping and doing good for others. But I still want to look out for myself as well.
I think people are afraid to acknowledge their own selfishness. Society has trained people to “say” and “do” the perceived “right” things. Aka, don’t rock the boat, play the game, and it just is, what it is. I don’t buy it, and I don’t play that game. I don’t conform to the norms and don’t think people really should. I think people should not be afraid to speak their mind, but on the flip side, if you speak your mind, you need to be prepared for the counter argument. And when someone disagrees with you, you can’t cry foul, like someone’s attacking you, and “it’s not fair”.
Let me get back on track with what I do and why I do it. I am a creative, I’ve always been a creative, and I can’t image being anything else. I was about to say, I’ve been a creative since I was a little kid, but I think we all were in one way or another. Do some people lose that childhood creativity, and others somehow channel it differently? I don’t know, but I know, I am most happy when I am creating.
My creating centers around a few things. One is, making my brain feel good. And two, creating to elicit some sort of response and emotion in someone else. If I’m standing still, I feel like I’m stagnating and failing. When I’m moving and creating, I feel like a million bucks.
Why do I want to elicit a response in people? I think it has to do with helping people feel something. It could be seeing a photo of themselves they love. It could be learning from the educational content I put out. It could be a memory that’s triggered by something I say or do. My why is centered around making people feel something.
I’ve been lucky enough to figure out what it is I like to do and why. But I’m not satisfied and don’t think I ever will be. I don’t want to stagnate, I want to continue to evolve. I know what I love doing today, but I doin’t know where tomorrow will take me. I would like to think I am open to the direction it goes, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little scared. But that’s life, if you never feel pain or joy, or even a healthy dose of fear…then what’s the point.
I’m far from perfect. I’m not even striving for perfect, as I see good enough, as being good enough. The what that triggered this brain dump was me thinking about my second photo book coming to life. As the kickstarter ends in roughly 30 hours, I’m thankful for everyone who backed it. I’m hopeful that it turns out the way I envision. And of course I’m a little scared. But most importantly, I’m proud and excited to see where the road goes.
Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.
4 months ago | [YT] | 156