Humble Pie, Kicking Dirt, Gritting Teeth, Inspiration or Maybe Just Perspiration...

Today Jaco & I went to a nearby town called Kleinmond. We were meeting one of Jaco's colleagues from the ship. Jaco needed a reference from her for his Canadian application. We enjoyed a lovely visit at a seaside restaurant. The service was wonderful, they even brought a bucket of water for the dogs, and the views were stunning. 

It wasn't too busy at the restaurant, but one large table was sat beside us. There was one fellow who had a nice camera. A Canon 7D with a 24-70 lens. 2.8, L-Series. It's a serious lens. It retails for around $1500 Canadian. In Rand, it would be significantly more. But the guy didn't have a UV filter on it! Seeing this mortifies me! My Mom taught me most of what I know about photography & one of the very first things she taught me was to put a UV filter on my lenses. That way the lens is protected from dust, dirt, bumps, scratches, dog's noses, kids fingers, etc, etc. If your lens is scratched, it's ruined. If your UV filter is scratched, it's replaceable! 

When I worked on ships, we would get a lot of passengers who would come to the counter for numerous issues. If I noticed they didn't have a UV filter, I would always recommend it. Well, today it bit me in the butt.

I hesitated telling the young man, because nobody likes to be told what to do(*ahem*). When I did, I started out by commenting on his lens & how good it was. Then was he a professional... He hesitated on professional, but his friends said yes, with emphasis. I asked him why he had such a great lens, but no UV filter on it. He replied saying it affected his focusing, and besides, he has a lens hood. A weak argument, but that wasn't the point. 

The points are:
1. He is much younger than I.
2. He has a business in Photography. (I don't)
3. He hands me his business card. (I don't have a business, why would I have cards?)
4. He is from up country, but shooting near Cape Town. (Obviously has clients around the country)
5. You get my point?

I don't have a leg to stand on. I'm just a girl with a nice camera. I bought a domain name in 2010. I haven't done anything with it. I bought a Lightroom tutorial book. I haven't done anything with it. I have a decade of travel photographs. I haven't done anything with them. 

Blimey! It's a real struggle! This kid really knocked me today! I'm like the child-less friend telling her friend how to raise her kids! (And we all know how much Moms hate that!) (I really try not to!) 

In fact, part of the reason I stopped my blog was because I thought I should be investing my time in a photography business, not blogging about what I did or didn't do for the day! These days I'm lucky to be up & dressed before 2 in the afternoon! Who am I kidding!?

So, here I sit. Tools in hand. But where is the key to get the engine revved up & rolling down the road?! Seeing as it's after midnight, I'm not looking for the key tonight. Maybe tomorrow, but certainly not today!

On the lighter side of things, and please don't judge me for what I'm about to say... I painted Kudu's nails yesterday. His first paw-dicure. What's that? Paw-dicure? Photo business? My head hangs in shame, but my dogs toes are a pretty blue! 

Jaco & I walked around town this afternoon - it was a glorious sunny day! I've committed to a 10-14 day juice fast to support a few friends and to help myself get on track. I'll begin it on Monday. Who knows, maybe I'll even finally tackle that Lightroom book and get started with learning what to do with all these photos!

I hope I'll look back on this day & laugh. But for now... I'm unsure of the word to describe this humble feeling. 

Sincerely, 
Maria Valentina

I was going to look for some pretty pics to try & validate that I'm not a lost cause, but it was so bloody overwhelming! Now it's past one, so this is the only one you get!