Don't Forget to Breathe

When I was fifteen, I really became interested in guitar and spent the next several years performing with various bands. Although I had a great time during this period, without fail, I would always begin each show with a terrible case of the jitters. Somewhere along the way, a fellow musician once gave me a great bit of advice: “Don’t forget to breathe!” Sounds simple, right? Well, yes, the breathing part maybe, but the remembering...not so much.

There are moments, after spending too much time indoors, so many hours being sucked into the computer screen, that I literally have a physical craving to escape into the woods. When I’m able to break free and actually get out to Where the Wild Things Are, I can be so overly-excited that I often run from place-to-place like some sort of hyper-active toy dog. In the process, I am surely sending any living subject matter into fight-or-flight (or hide) mode.

Most recently, I have been referring back to that great little tidbit of respiratory wisdom that I received so many years ago now. I can see a noticeable difference between the photos that I make when I am in a calm, relaxed state and those that I’ve made during one of my mad dashes. Images that are made while in the latter state are not only less intriguing, but also less intimate because they are conceived during moments of extreme self-centeredness. So take this little bit of advice from me, compose yourself and then compose the frame. Your photographs will most likely profit as a result.