Reducing Friction

Yesterday, I brought my camera along on our little hike HOPING to get a shot like this…making up for all the times I didn’t bring my camera to this very place and wished I had. 😊 Here are my reasons for giving in to the “not today” excuse in the recent past: It’s about a half-mile in and mostly uphill to get to this spot. It’s winter, it’s cold. I’m going to be wearing a bulky jacket with a hood which reduces my mobility and makes it awkward to shoot. I’ll be wearing gloves AND wool mittens because my hands get so cold. The camera/lens combo is heavy AND expensive so I’ll have to get it ready to secure on our drive, and feel reasonably confident I’m going to stay upright while trekking across the snow (actually a valid concern!).  

As James Clear says…”Before you try to increase your willpower, try to decrease the friction in your environment.”.🥰. So here goes: 1) I purchased a heated vest so I can wear lighter clothes and have more mobility 2) I use hand-warmers so I can ditch the mittens and be ready to shoot. 3) Over the last month, I’ve hit the home gym to work on upper body strength so slinging the camera body and a heavy Canon 100-400mm lens over my shoulder while hiking feel less daunting (for those youngsters out there, as you get older its an uphill battle to keep in shape to do the things you love to do) 4) I have my camera kit set up and ready to go  5) I use my new messenger-style camera bag (xmas present from my daughter) to slip in and secure the camera plus lens while driving, so I can just grab the camera and go when we arrive at our hiking spot.

I love this shot.  It captures a really fun moment in the life of Keen – his joy, eagerness, handsomeness.  The muted tones of the weeds (Queen Anne’s Lace) add color and texture to the winter landscape as do the background trees. It’s composed well – that is no small thing considering I generally just let the dogs play and run around on our hikes while I try to compose and shoot.

I try to live by a “never give up” philosophy and a problem solving mentality…which reminds me. I wrote an article about this in the context of dog training in 2017…Check it out. I still believe every word!  https://annestocumdogtraining.com/?s=solution+focus