Well said, Emily.
Probably the single most crucial development point so far during my growth
as a photographer came from forcing myself to shoot things that I couldn't
stand doing. Some of them I still can't stand doing, but the lessons learned
in how to solve the specific inherent problems with them enable me to apply
techniques to my current work that I would never have otherwise learned.
And yes, one's job security relies mostly on the ability to adapt to change
and to innovate. This ability cannot be acquired without some high level of
photographic mastery to begin with.
In my early days, I foolishly believed that if I only learned how to use a
camera (and maybe an enlarger), well, I could be a great photographer. I
never once thought I'd have to also learn how to engineer plumbing, for
example. Or to paint creatively, erect wood structures, sculpt, draft, cook,
build scale models, learn calculus, relearn trigonometry, et cetera... in
order to create the images I wanted. I have done all of those things over
the course of about 25 years of impassioned camera caressing, and I still
don't consider myself a great photographer. That's because to some extent, I
know my stuff, but I also know that I still have much more to learn, much
more to accomplish, and many more photographs to finish.
I don't know what to say about the job, though...
Darin
