On a recent vacation to Northern California we took the girls on a beautiful little hike in Fern Canyon located in the Redwood Forest. We enjoyed splashing in the water, catching a giant frog, discovering banana slugs, and being surrounded by narrow walls covered in lush green ferns. Thankfully we didn’t run into any dinosaurs which could have seemed likely after this location was chosen by Steven Spielberg as a backdrop for the film Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World! 😉 To top off the magnificence of our first visit to this beautiful place we had the priviledge of meeting Emily Polar. We noticed her photographing our two little redheads as they immersed themselves in their environment, ready to take on any adventure with Keens on their feet and Camelbacks on their backs. She later told us that she was shooting a piece for National Geographic! Are you kidding? A photographer shooting for National Geographic here and now and photographing my children! How cool is that!? Aside from being a wife and mother that would be my dream! What stood out to me most was how kind and humble she was! The second we arrived at our beach house I found her website and fell in love with her work! It is truly an accomplishment to be so talented at something and at the same time to be so humble and kind, which has proved true with further interactions with Emily. She and her work inspired me and made me want to be a better person and photographer.

On the contrast, a few weeks later we again set out on another family adventure. This time it was camping in Capitol Reef National Park. One evening the kids were tired but we decided to stop and take a short hike for a quick view of sunset. Once we arrived at our desired location we climbed to the top of a rock and I pulled out my camera to snap a few pictures before we had to scurry back to the car. A woman asked if we wanted her to take a picture of our whole family and we gladly told her that would be wonderful! With my camera in her hand I began to say, “Oh let me show you something. I have my camera set to back but……….” I was quickly interrupted with her response that she knew what she was doing. I again kindly said, “Ok but my camera is set to back button focus.” She snapped back at me and said, “I know what I am doing. I am a professional photographer!” I was taken back a little and didn’t say another word. She looked at my camera and scoffed, “ugh your ISO is too low. I need to change your settings if that is ok.” As I was telling her that would be completely fine she was already making the changes. She took a picture of us, turned the dial of my camera to program mode, handed it to me, and said, “I turned your camera back to program mode for you!” I was in awe! I never shoot in program mode and at the time she received my camera from me I was shooting in manual. As we started hiking back to the car I felt awful! I started thinking that maybe she was right. Maybe I shouldn’t even take pictures anymore. Heaven forbid in the rush of the evening I forgot to check my ISO.

These two experiences taught me a valuable lesson. We all have those times when we compare ourselves to others and feel like we are not good enough! If we compare ourselves to others we will never be good enough. We will never measure up. It seems as if there will always be someone better than us at whatever it is we are doing. Likewise, it is important not to judge others in their efforts. We need to put our energy into being our best self’s and trying to make personal improvements without comparing ourselves to where others are at.  If we love something we should do it for the sole reason of loving it no matter what others think of us!!!  I believe if we go through this journey of life sharing our talents and lifting others we will be happier and those around us will be happier too. After all great photographs have a way of expressing the photographer and who we are as well as the beauty of the subject.  “If the photographer is interested in the people in front of his lens, and if he is compassionate, it’s already a lot. The instrument is not the camera but the photographer.”

–Eve Arnold

Check out Emily’s amazing work at emilypolar.com

Also check out this fun blog post and her photographs including those of my children published by National Geographic here:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/destinations/united-states/california/family-travel-freedom-california-fern-canyon/

I can’t make a post without a picture so enjoy one of my favorites.  🙂