Professional Envy

Sometimes I have more than enough free time than I really need. I'm talking about the period in between magazine issues, when I'm waiting for a specific issue to be printed and mailed, before I begin work on the next edition. In total, my annual "free time" when I can do essentially what I want to do (a perk of being a part-time self employed individual) amounts to around 10-12 weeks. In warm weather, finding fun things to do is much simpler…wandering about with camera in hand, fishing via kayak on a quiet lake, or exploring the back roads of SW Virginia and NW North Carolina. On the other hand, during winter (like now) a lot of my free time is spent being a "visitor" on numerous photographic websites, and a "lurker" on dozens of photography-related blogs and interactive forums. In that regard, I am essentially in the midst of some VERY famous and highly talented people, who (unlike me) really know what they are doing, all the time, with a camera in hand. So, I have developed a fair amount of "professional envy", and while I shake my head north and south when reading something these famous photographers write, and then say to myself, "I know how to do that", deep down inside I know I have a long way to go to get to where they are. I guess I'm pretty fortunate to be where I am, and being able to do what I do is a great joy to me. However, it's not that bad in my view to be envious of what other people do well. You're never too old to learn.