Master Yoda Teaches Photography

Greetings, my young padawans. Master Yoda, I am. Teach you a masterclass, I will, hmm. Your columnist writes not. Captured by the Empire to host some competition, he has been. Wish him well, I do. But begin the lesson, we must, hmm?

Just as the Jedi Way, fear is the bane of photographers. Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. Hmm. And the dark side clouds everything. Loose your confidence and forget your creativity, you will. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you, it will. Therefore, apprentice or master, doubt not your potential to create fine photography, hmm. Fear not your mistakes, for the greatest teacher, failure is. If no mistake you have made, losing you are. A different game you should play.

To master the way of a photographer, hmm, patience you must have, my young padawans. Sought me in Dagobah, a young boy had, to learn the Jedi Way. “I cannot teach him. The boy has no patience.” said I. “I am ready!” insisted the ignorant boy, hmm. Ready was he? What knows him of ready? For eight hundred years have I trained Jedi. My own counsel will I keep on who is to be trained. Heh, reckless, the boy was; impatient, he was. Hmm. Got his hand chopped off by his father, he did. Learned the lesson, he had. And patient, hmm, he became. The same, it is, for photographers. Comes not by itself, the opportunity does. Art rewards those with patience. Wait, a photographer must, and the perfect moment will come. And closer you are, hmm, on the path to the light side.

Camera, like a Jedi’s weapon, is an elegant instrument for a more civilized age. But the gear matters not. Judge me by my iPhone, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not bound to this camera and lens. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the computer screen, everywhere, yes. Even between your mind and your camera. Feel the Force, trust the Force, use the Force. Feel your composition with the Force you must. Then click the shutter and hesitate not, hmm. Try not, fear not. For do or do not, there is no try. If believe in your Force of creativity, you cannot, then that is why you fail.

Therefore, fear not, and have patience. Trust in the Force, for that is the way of a photographer. Mmhmhmhm. And May the Force be with you.

Works Cited

Goldberg, Haley. “8 Powerful Quotes From Yoda, the OG Wellness Guru.” Shine, Shine, advice.theshineapp.com/articles/8-powerful-quotes-from-yoda-the-og-wellness-guru/#:~:text=%22The%20greatest%20teacher%2C%20failure%20is,our%20mistakes%E2%80%94plain%20and%20simple.

Medrut, Flavia. “Yoda Quotes About Fear, Patience and Knowledge.” Goalcast, 6 Jan. 2021, www.goalcast.com/2017/12/12/yoda-quotes-star-wars/.

Parade. “40 Yoda Quotes That Will Leave You With All the Star Wars Feels.” Parade, Parade: Entertainment, Recipes, Health, Life, Holidays, 19 Feb. 2021, parade.com/943548/parade/yoda-quotes/.

Photography Concentrate, https://photographyconcentrate.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/large_yodadagoan9.jpg.

“Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back.” Quotes, www.quotes.net/mquote/91383#:~:text=Ready%20are%20you%3F-,What%20know%20you%20of%20ready%3F,commitment%2C%20the%20most%20serious%20mind.

Photo of the Month: Golden Hour and Blue Hour Photography

Here are all the stunning photos from last month’s submissions!

by Elizabeth Ann McCord

by Sophia L.

by Pia O.

To the Sun by Hope Berry

by Lydia Jung

by David Wollschlager

Finding Peace in the Sahel by Naomi Brane

Hopeful by Andrew Chen

The Firefall by Eason Lu

Summer Sunsets by Pia O.

by Rachel Beth H.

Sunset from the Swamps by Rachel Beth H.

Together Again by Rachel Beth H.

Next month’s theme is: Long Exposure

Please submit your photos with this Google Form: https://forms.gle/QKRNCx9ATwZg8tU67

The submission deadline is April 25th. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comment section. As a note, this will be the last POTM, so if you wish to participate, please send your photos!