Some are bold and brave. We'll call these GROUP I. They stand tall and make their mark. They consider themselves leaders, not followers. They feel and exude confidence in themselves. And in the process they talk to others, they ask questions of others, they explore creative ideas with others; and they offer feedback as a way for others to understand better where they are coming from. They seek out others and reach out to them in warm, friendly, supportive and involved ways.

Theirs, consequently, is a highly interactive world. These kinds of folks feel a responsibility to do their best, but in the same breath they can also be counted on to cheer others on around them. They help make the world a better place to live – emotionally, physically and intellectually. Their are remembered for their artistic pursuits because theirs are self-expressive and self-revealing projects. They dig down inside themselves to find their true self, then they boldly show it to the world, not as PERFECTION but as a self in the process of evolution.

At the other end of the continuum are folks who concern themselves mostly with how they look and how are perceived by others; or, how they measure up to others. We'll call these Group II. They worry more about 'winning' than on achieving their personal best at things they do in life, especially if they make some mistakes along the way. Mistakes to these folks are cruel twists of fate that are embarrassing and disgusting. They slink away and hide in the shadow of a mistake so as to (hopefully) not be noticed by others. Consequently they carefully observe others and they readily 'take' from others, but they rarely give back to the world around them, and never spontaneously. As a result, they are engulfed by a fairly high level of basic life anxiety because they reside in an emotional cacoon that separates themselves from others. This cacoon excludes others, and it prevents real communication with others. It also kills the creative spirit which is inherently an interactive one, not a competitive one.

Creativity flows from inspiration, and inspiration flows from others.

So competition is fine to some degree but how much nicer a world would it be if we weren't all so focused on 'winning'?


A Little closer to Home

The rest of humanity falls somewhere in between the above extremes. The question is, where? And why?

Take the field of digital photography which is clearly being driven by hardware and software makers. The industry claims it is responding to consumer needs but I don't see much evidence for that. What I see are industry types making photography news happen. They are in the business of telling us what we need in trade magazines that contain twice as many pages of advertising as substance.

These industry types seem to think that the rest of us are dying of hunger for the lack of more pink Colorado sunsets on magazine covers crowded with advertising.

As I see it, the entire industry is being led by folks in GROUP II, not by those with high levels of self-actualization. Were there a huge cadre of self-actualized individuals at the helm, we would see much more focus on artistic networks for inspiration and self-growth. Today's networks are expensive collectives poised against the competition in increasingly aggressive ways – offering up far more legal advice than emotional and creative support. They definitely aren't very inspiring. Yes, they are sharing their photoshop expertise with us but why? To help themselves sell books, mainly.

Do we really need one more book about color management? Or sharpening? There are already dozens of them out there.

Even most of the photo trips out there are driven more by economic forces than artistic forces.

Yes, photo trips try to drive home how to take perfect pictures which is good, assuming that is your primary goal when you are out in nature. And they can help you manage your equipment and workflow in more effecient ways. I admit, they also offer opportunities to interact with other photographers – but then – do you really want to spend upwards of $7,000 for a week of poorly dispensed group TLC?

I can't think of anything worse then spending thousands of dollars and otherwise precious time with an arrogant, belly-aching, highly ecotistical jerk who thinks he is God's gift. You know what I mean? And [he or she] might not even be the leader of the group!

You may be better off joining forces with a cadre of friends and designing tours of your own, taylor-made to your group's unique needs.


Back to the Drawing Board

It is never easy, but the more self-differentiated among us have to stand up and be counted.

We have to say NO to industry trends that place equipment and status above all else. We have to fight, instead, for more artistic space, for the establishment of more creatively oriented collectives, for more dialogue with fellow artists through written media, for more tolerance to see things differently; and for more collective soul-searching about why we photographers do what we do in the first place.

No, it is not just about getting work accepted by Corbis, honest.

If we can just get everyone TALKING together, that would be a start. Right now a few vocal ones from GROUP II are shouting 'ME, ME, ME' at the top of their lungs while most of the rest of us are sitting mute in our little gear-driven, name-branded cacoons. And not enough folks are daring to speak up!


The Message?

Get off your duff and go find some like-minded friends in your own back yard; like a non-competitive camera club, for instance.

Compare notes with them. Laugh together. Try out each other's perspectives. Walk in each other's shoes for awhile. Dare each other to march to a different drummer. Show the world what makes you tick, not as a Nikon or Canon shooter, but as a person who is just plain interesting to be around.

Stand up and emote! Talk to others about LIFE!

Remember that if there is a race out there, it is a race against time. Time is all that really matters in the end. We each have a limited amount of it on this Earth and we need to encourage each other to live our lives to the fullest