Photography, Passion and Happiness
I know that Photography is my number one passion, but why? Recently I watched a fantastic documentary on Netflix called Happy. In the synopsis they say: “Happy takes viewers on a journey from the swamps of Louisiana to the slums of Kolkata in search of what really makes people happy.” What was really interesting to me was the findings of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a psychologist and rock climber, that the more you immersed yourself into something you love the happier you are. If that something is an activity that requires your full, undivided attention he calls this state “Flow”.
At this point in the movie the penny dropped. I had my ah-ha moment. THAT is why I love photography so much. THAT is really why it is my passion. Yes I love to create beautiful images for my clients, yes I love to share my work with the world, but most of all it is all consuming. You have to concentrate, immerse yourself in the technical aspects, in the posing, checking the background and looking for great composition. This leaves no time for the “monkey mind” to wonder around with it’s usual tricks. Unable to worry about anything, it has the same effect as doing a yoga class or mediating for an hour.
What a wonderful gift.
For some people it may be some other all consuming hobby or activity. For Craig it is surfing, hands down. What is your true passion? Do you have more than one? I would love to hear about what your all consuming happy inducing activity may be. Leave a comment below and lets see what we all come up with!
For a family or maternity shoot in Jeffreys Bay, St Francis or Cape St Francis, email us on [email protected]
Photographs all taken by Craig Bruce on a Rollei 6×6, Fuji 400H, developed and scanned by Richard Photo Lab
This was my maternity shoot just before I had Saharah – May 2013
