A Plan is Just a Point From Which to Deviate
Before I became professional photographer, I flew helicopters in the military. We had a great saying in the squadron… a plan is just a point from which to deviate. Now pilots are known for their sarcasm and dark humour but if you push that aside there’s a deeper meaning and a good life lesson to be learned from the phrase. Plans are good but they are not guarantees of how life will play out. They are starting points. “The best laid plans of mice and men…” and all that.
That lesson may be what this photographic journey teaches me most of all – a plan is a good starting point but be open to, appreciate and make the most of the unexpected. How often have you pre-planned a shoot and had things go exactly as planned? Yeah I figured I wasn’t the only one. The point I’m getting at is not to reveal that life and photography go off the flightplan at times – we all know that. The point, in regards to the arts, is that how adaptive you are to your environment has a lot to do with how creative you can be. The control freak photographer is a pretty poor photographer. The photographer who appreciates and makes the most of the unexpected is able to express his vision creatively. He plays the hand he’s dealt and gives voice to his reaction to the moment. I believe that’s true photographic vision. Of course some days are better than others but the photographer of vision doesn’t only create images that connect on days when the stars align.
I believe what makes you a professional is how you deal with the unexpected. Can you get the job done when the cards are stacked against you? Experience teaches you what to do when it all hits the fan. Experience gives you the confidence to know it can be done… your creativity determines how you are going to get there.
So when you pick up the camera today, be open to, appreciate and make the most of the unexpected – it’s the twists and turns that make the journey memorable.
Whenever I am out in the field and the weather just isn’t cooperating, or I’m on a shoot and lets just say things aren’t going exactly as planned, I think of my Cannon Beach sandcastle image. On a trip I took to Oregon, my intention in stopping in at Cannon Beach was to capture the iconic haystack formations. However, the unexpected scene of a sandscastle being surrounded by the incoming tide had me throwing the flightplan out the window. The soon to be history sandcastle more clearly captured the Cannon Beach story I wanted to tell.
Pick a shot from your own portfolio that will remind you that when the number 2 engine flames out – a plan is just a point from which to deviate.
