Intro by Skip Cohen
In 2012, Suzette Allen shared this post in one of her blogs, and now, almost ten years later, the timing couldn’t be better.
The benefit of pandemic downtime is having your most valuable commodity, TIME, available to strategize and do a little house-cleaning. But not just in your office, home, garage but the mess inside your head. The pandemic has put us all in a position of questioning everything we do and how we do it. Plus, it’s given us time to consider changing our path and doing something different.
It’s time to let go of the past and press on to the future…
Change is difficult sometimes but necessary.
Suzette Allen
Here’s the fun of being in this industry, and I’ve seen it proven time and again – as one door closes, another one opens. As an artist, you’ve got the most creative tools in the history of imaging at your fingertips. At the same time, you’ve got more reach than a newspaper or magazine had just a few years back – social media has given you access to the world. It’s also given you a front-row seat on trends, new techniques, and technology.
For example, at the time of this post, Suzette was just considering going into mirrorless technology. Today she’s one of the most recognized LUMIX Ambassadors, which includes her reputation as the Queen of Hybrid when, years ago, she started combining still images, video, and great music into storytelling videos.
So, to Suzette’s point in this post from so many years ago – It’s time to think about the next path in your journey and keep it simple. I’m not suggesting it’s easy to make changes but remember, growth only occurs outside your comfort zone!
By Suzette Allen
That’s been my mantra for probably 10 years. I’ve always been too ambitious for my own good and it’s easy to get too many things going… and being the daughter and granddaughter of a packrat and a hoarder, (in that order) I’ve had my genetic challenges of stripping down all the excess I don’t need to haul around. I’m actually pretty proud of myself for the extreme simplification of my life. Simple is good. Its pretty necessary when you have a lifestyle of traveling 4-5 months a year. And it’s a good mindset as a teacher: get to the heart of the matter and build from there.
But it IS a constant journey. Our culture is all about “stuff”. We are trained to love, accumulate and take pride in “stuff”. And we always want better or bigger “stuff”. Or multiples of the stuff we like. But really, only one is all we need of most things. I live in a 572 square foot house. 20’x27′ plus a closet extension. Yep- it’s small, and Yep- it’s perfect. We originally planned to add on, but why? We love it! (it also helps me keep from accumulating stuff!!) But I’ve so grown to love the simplicity. Less to clutter, less to clean, less to fuss. And now we have one car. I totally works for us!
Now it’s time for my camera. Yeah, really. I am seriously considering getting rid of my big Nikon and going to the smaller, more portable, light, simple, Mirrorless Lumix cameras– for Everything! Not just vacation pix! Yeah, I know– sounds pretty drastic. But it is perfect for my journey. I’m traveling more, going to Italy next year and we need to travel light. It’s sort of a no-brainer. I’m also getting older and my poor hand hurts after lugging around that huge camera and lens all day….It’s time to simplify again. Every time I do, it feels better, lighter, easier to breathe.
It’s time to let go of the past and press on to the future… change is difficult sometimes, but necessary. But hanging onto the past, while dabbling with the future REALLY complicates things! (like lugging around DOUBLE the equipment like we have lately!) It is time to commit, let go and be free to enjoy what the future has to offer! (in photography, in life, in relationships, and our spirits)
