Week One: Patience, Perseverance, and Confidence

This first week of the photography module has definitely got me started thinking about the NDCE. I have learned that photographers not only have an artful way of looking at the world, but they also have enormous patience and confidence in their work. I started the project by taking several photos of meaningful objects around my house. At first I was disappointed with the pictures I took. Nothing in the photos struck me as compelling. The process truly began when I began to take the advice that I read in the articles How to Make Great Photographs (Ken Rockwell), Five Elements of a Great Photograph (Nancy Hill), and Composition (Gloria Hopkins). Then I started to take the advice of Ken Rockwell and opened my eyes to my surroundings. I also began to take on the project in an artful way. I began looking at everyday things in a new way, at a new angle, and through a new lens. This new way of thinking reminded me that greatness comes with hard work and patience. I needed to persevere and take plenty of photos until I achieved a photograph that I was satisfied with. With every shot that I was not satisfied with, I reminded myself to be patient and wait for a compelling photo. In this revelation I am reminded of the patience it takes to manage a classroom on a daily basis. Educators need to have patience with students, staff, parents, and colleagues. This is something that I have always been aware of, but it often falls to the back of my mind while teaching, where it was in the forefront of my photography experience. I can say that I had a particular experience in my first year teaching when I learned the same lesson. It was with a specific defiant student who began to be violent towards other students. Obviously I wanted to keep the other students safe, but I also realize that if I keep my cool and was patient with her over several weeks then soon I would build a rapport with her and her behavior would turn around. Eventually I earned her trust and her behavior did improve. Although this may be an extreme example, I learned the value of being patient with my students and by being patient with my camera; I was reminded of this important teaching trait. I could also say that in that same teaching example, I had to have confidence in my teaching and my abilities to be able to help this student. In the same respect, I needed to have confidence in my photographing abilities to continue taking pictures. To be honest, at one point I felt defeated because the pictures were not turning out like I wanted them to, but I had to remind myself that I was beginning something unfamiliar to me and I needed to have confidence in my photos. As a teacher, I try and build my students confidence in all areas throughout the year. Well, this week I felt as if I was in my students shoes…I was frustrated and defeated by learned to muster up enough confidence to continue photographing. I believe this photography module experience could be a wonderful vehicle in relating to my future students. Overall this week has taught me two valuable lessons about perseverance, patience, and self confidence that translate to both the photography and teaching worlds.