I’m not a brave man. And I’m usually not very much into New Year’s resolutions either. This year I wanted to work on that and change it up a little. One of my goals for 2014 is to conquer my fears and do more things that scare me. I believe that fear can hold you back from doing what you were meant to do in your life and from becoming the person that you were meant to be. Looking back on my own life, I realize with distance how many of my decisions were driven by fear. Being afraid of change frequently led me to do the safest or the most comfortable thing and held me back from doing the right thing. I see the same problem in photography frequently. As soon as a photographer becomes commercially successful you often see their artistic development freeze. With commercial bookings, clients usually expect a certain style, a signature look. That’s nothing bad, it’s often the sole reason why someone gets to work for a client in the first place. But this is also a very dangerous place because it doesn’t allow for artistic development if you’re not careful. Commercial success forces many artists to maintain a certain status quo until they lose the urge to create. This doesn’t only apply to photography, you can also see how musicians are frequently being criticized for wanting to develop in a different direction and try something new……

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Fear Johnny Patience