The Visual Toolbox: 60 Lessons for Stronger Photographs

Lesson 37. Moments: Patience

“Why is patience so important?”“Because it makes us pay attention.”

–Paulo Coelho

I am not the most patient man on the planet. In fact I’m known for the opposite. My belief that life is short, coupled with a sense of urgency to cram it all in, and the knowledge that if I don’t do the things I want, no one will do them for me, makes me deeply impatient. So when I tell you patience is more important to a photographer than half the nonsense we spend our time on, it’s not because I find it easy or have a particular knack for it. It’s because, pragmatically, I’ve found it to be true. On safari in Kenya I’ve watched time and time again as people have become impatient, put their cameras away, and given up. I tell them not ...