“What makes the desert beautiful,” said the little prince, “is that somewhere it hides a well…”
— St. Antoine de Saint-Exupery
. . . . . .

When I was driving through Death Valley with my family a few months ago, we would stop now and then and I would look for flowers. It was hot, dry and dusty but outside Death Valley a super bloom was happening and I knew there would be spring flowers even in the desert.

I remembered the story of The Little Prince and went hunting for a quote that I vaguely remembered – about seeing the beauty in something that may not seem inherently beautiful on first glance.

As I have worked toward making photography my career over the past few years, a recurring theme has come up for me.  I’ve touched on it in different ways – like in this post where I felt disgruntled by the judgement of people who may not like what we shoot, but who cares?  We should go ahead and shoot whatever feels right for us.  Or this similar post which was sparked by another article called “In Defense of Posting Pretty Pictures”.

We have to find our own story and tell it. And although working as a professional photographer means that I can’t always shoot to my own personal taste and have to deliver a product that suits my client’s needs, it doesn’t mean that I have to ignore what feels right for me.

I’m not trying to get deeply philosophical here. I took some photos of tiny and not-so-tiny blooms in the dry desert, tied them to a quote I remembered, and then found an association to the choices I make in photography both for my own development, and for the choices I make in the work that I do.

I love seeing and hearing how other people walk their talk, and sometimes marvel over the bravery of their choices – creatively and/or professionally – and the fact that they stand up for and defend their work and how they do it. I’m working on feeling comfortable with that too.

What’s your story?

cheers,
kim