The Word "No"

I’ve come to realize that one of the reasons I have felt so stagnant with my photography the last year or two is the fact that I have allowed the word “no” to enter my vocabulary. When an idea I have is difficult or takes effort I talk myself out of it. When something might be dangerous or I could fail I don’t even bother trying.

As of now this is going to change. The word “no” means you automatically fail. 

I think it is fitting that I came to this realization while in San Francisco last weekend. I had been admiring this spot in particular for a long time but there are a lot of pedestrians who pass by and so I’ve never let myself do a shoot here. On this trip though I wasn’t willing to convince myself not to take the shot I wanted and luckily I was able to call one of my most reliable models and say, “hey, we are doing this!!”

So in the end I really like this image if for no other reason than the fact that I did not let myself say I couldn’t.

Camera: Rolleiflex TLR
Film: Ilford HP5
Model: Iona
Location: San Francisco, CA