Last week my office hosted a international senior management meeting. The hallways were filled with exotic accents and foreign fashion. I participated in a multi-day process review session with a dynamic group of executives and process owners. It was electric, intense, and inspiring – but I will share a secret with you – during the breaks I dreamt of photography, this blog, and you my dear reader.
One of the best parts of working for a global corporation is learning from passionate, successful individuals hailing from around the corner to around the world. I take the lessons I learn from my colleagues and apply them to my work and my personal and creative life in equal measure. Last week, one question was asked again and again: “how do we define and measure success?” It’s an important question for any business to ask and it got me thinking about my photography practice too. When I travel I arm myself with cameras, lists of inspirational words (see previous posts), and a strong sense of adventure and spontaneity, but how do I define and measure a successful trip in photographs?
Here’s my working definition: Travel Photography Success is equal parts fun, exploration, and challenge resulting in two collections of photographs – one album of twenty to fifty images that tells the story of my adventure and inspires and amuses others and one much larger collection that houses all the images that make it past the first quick edit. This second collection inspires and teaches me and is generally only shared with immediate family and travel companions.
Over the next few posts I plan to explore this idea in the hopes of evolving my definition. I will be sharing a variety of photos and experiences. In the meantime, I’m curious about you. How do you define and measure a successful trip in photographs?
In joy,
Melinda
p.s. Be sure to sign up for the Daily Snapshot Challenge via Twitter ! (@GlobalSnapshots – see link to the right)