A Photography Mission

Statue of Fray Junipero Serra

I woke up this morning with a plan. A mission. I drove into Hollywood to shoot a bunch of photos for this blog. I was going to talk about taking better vacation photos. But alas, tourists, film crews, and even trees thwarted my plans. Nothing I wanted to shoot looked good today. So I got angry, and headed home. I missed my exit, got stuck in traffic, and ended up on the other side of the San Fernando Valley. It was hot out, and I was a bit hot under the collar. Then I took a moment to breathe.
I started taking photography seriously when I was in film school. It started out as a way to see how different emulsions reacted to different conditions without having to spend a lot of money on motion picture film. (I would buy Kodak motion picture stock in 35mm still camera spools from the now gone RGB Labs in Hollywood). I soon fell in love with photography. I found it calming to go out and shoot. I liked capturing the world the way I saw it. I could spend hours taking pictures of architecture, landscapes, whatever. just me and a camera. This morning, the love was missing. It felt more like a job. something I had to do, and I didn't like that.

Fountain at Mission San Fernando

So I calmed myself down, and decided to head over to the San Fernando Mission The Mission San Fernando Rey De Espa was founded in 1797, and since I am a bit of a historical nut, it had been on my list of places to photograph.
The place has been restored and  is still a working church. The grounds are very well kept, and it leads to a nice dichotomy as seen in the picture to the right of the very old and weathered fountain in the middle of the well manicured lawns.

Blacksmith Tools

There is also a nice museum housed in one of the buildings.There are some great displays on Life in California in the early 1800's Including this great display of blacksmith tools in the photo on the left.
Walking around This historical place, looking at photos from the 1800's and taking my own photos made me forget the stresses of the morning, and reminded me why I love photography.

The Cross in front of Mission San Fernando Rey De Espa

So I guess if there is a lesson or tip in this post, it is to shoot what you love. Shoot what you see, and shoot what you feel. People will hire you, or follow your blog, or buy your prints because they like the vision you present. In this age of auto focus, and auto exposure cameras, It is your vision that makes your photos unique. When you start trying to shoot what you think someone else wants you to shoot, then you are not shooting with the vision that they wanted.

All photos in this post were shot on a Canon T2i

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*Video added 10/8/2012