UPGRADE YOUR MIND'S FIRMWARE

Image by: PeterAnthony Photography

Many of us always make a point of upgrading.  For some people, it's a mantra that they live according to.  Somewhere along the way we've developed this idea that newer is always better.  Why would I buy a regular laundry detergent if there's an "improved" laundry detergent on the market?  We seem to be wired into believing that the most recent iteration of something is always going to be superior.  Well, that's not always true.  I only have to look at some of my old manual focus lenses.  There's nothing out there today that can match the colour, rendering, and construction of these gems.

However, there is one thing that many of us tend to neglect upgrading, which genuinely requires upgrading, and that's our mind.  Oh sure, when there's a new operating system, or even an incremental improvement to an existing operating system, we quickly upgrade.  When it comes to our mind, we're either reluctant, slow, or unmotivated to upgrade our own mental firmware.  Whether it's a result of our current comfort, or being in a perceived unbreakable routine, we need to trudge past this and push our mind in order to genuinely stimulate ourselves.  Stimulus should not always come from external sources.  It should come from within.  With that being said, you can't improve your photographic eye unless you begin by furthering your photographic mind first.