Sunshine Coast and Brisbane Lifestyle and Wedding Photographer

If you follow my instragram feed, you would have noticed I like coffee. A lot. And so…here I am (pictured below), drinking coffee at a Starbucks in Kuala Lumpur during a visit to my “second home”, enjoying the hospitality of free wi-fi, cathartically blogging the thoughts scribbled in my journal since earlier this year trusting in the accountability of a published  blog post to nudge the vital follow through from every good intention. “I blog, therefore I am” is something I would never be so lame to write.

No more digression.

I like lists, and the ’2012 resolve’ is my top 5 for making this year better than the last.

#1 Look outside photography for inspiration. How we see the world is such a big part of how we capture it. Visual forms and disciplines such as graphic design, modern and art-deco architecture, and painting has a lot to teach about visual aesthetics, form, texture, and colour to hone a sharper visual sensibility that is unique and creative. It’s hardly an arduous task, but let’s face it…it’s easier to flick on Masterchef in the evening than read something educational, albeit interesting (*note – something else will have to go – I <3 Masterchef).

#2  Show value. I’ve always instinctively cared a lot about visual creativity and assigned a high personal value to it and those who produce it. I’m going to put words to what I intuitively feel and believe about the value and uniqueness of photography in telling our own stories and key moments in our lives.

#3  Shoot personal projects. Pick a few personal projects and just make the time to shoot them. I’ve had so many ideas for projects that I’ve wanted to do, but have either never started or remain unfinished due to available time and the obstacles of financing them to complete them in the way I envisioned (I am a perfectionist at heart).

#4  Enrich my mind by learning from others. I’ve always enjoyed books on leadership and personal growth. “Think and grow Rich by Napolean Hill, Good to Great by Jim Collins, the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson are on the list (not necessarily in this order), bolstered by a few classics such as, “Paradise Lost” by John Milton, and “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald (the last two persistently recommended to me by my older brother).

#5  Pray more.The best seasons of my life have been those I can reflect on as trusting foremost in God’s goodness and guidance in spite of anything and everything. There’s such a difference between trusting in His goodness when it’s clearly visible and doing so when it’s not. Prayer is the connection.

Photo credit: Christine (wife). Shot with iPhone 4 and processed with Aperture 3.