I was up early yesterday and was able to see the blood moon eclipse. I don’t take enough time to watch the sky, but I love it when I do. To me, the moon usually looks like a flat disc. However, during the eclipse it looked like a pink marble I could pluck from the sky. I’ve tried many times to capture the brilliance of the night sky with my camera. I always seem to just get a round white blurry spot for the moon.
It frustrates me that as much as I try I always seem to get the same results. And then, on the socials, there’s someone I know who’s captured the same scene and it is perfectly brilliant. I realize it is the cell phone I’m using. I’ve always been an Android user (well , at least since my short Blackberry stage) and I’ve found my friends are using I-phones. At times like these I debate, “do I switch?” The expense stops me…cell phones aren’t cheap. The learning curve stops me too. Twenty-plus years of using a cell phone, it isn’t going to be easy to change. Is it really worth it for the quality of photography it produces? I have a good DSLR camera I could use. Ahh… the internal debate. The envy of what other’s have and I don’t.
I think our society raises us to compare. Who got the gold star on their homework? Who ran the fastest in gym? Who drives the fancier car? Who got into the better college? Social media with all the “influencers” seem to thrive on who got the most “likes.”
I’ve thought about this a lot. Comparison seems hard to ignore when it comes to art. Yet, comparing can make us think…am I good enough? But…what are we really asking? Are we good enough for what? I’ve met many people who said I’m not an artist because I’m not “good enough.”
Maybe you want to be an influencer or maybe you dream of having your art hanging in a National gallery. Well…yes, there are standards you’ll have to rise to. But, I don’t think most people create to reach these high levels of achievement. Most of us create, because we love to create. There is joy in the creative process and if we only want to create, then why must we compare? Why can’t we accept and embrace who we are and what we make?
So back to my moon shot… I can’t capture it with the tools I have on hand. If I want better, I know I have ways to change things. However, until then I’m ok accepting what I have. Either way the image is still etched on my brain.