Cross posted at Shutter Sisters:

I wrote a draft post the other day in which I mentioned some peers whose work I highly respect – Marcie, Diane, and Georgia, to list just a few fellow Shutter Sisters whose names were included – isn’t that odd, “fellow” Shutter Sisters?  Even though in this situation the definition for “fellow” is a male or female colleague, a companion, a comrade, an associate, a partner, a sharer, an alternative definition is man or boy.  I prefer “a sharer”, but I digress.  I was reading a post by David duChemin whose second book, Vision Mongers, was just released and whose first book, Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision, I’m still trying to read. Why am I still “trying” to read his book?  Because it is so dang good, I keep going back to reread the same sections over and over again.  David’s tag line is something that he always stresses – “gear is good, vision is better” and when I look at the works of the ladies mentioned above, I see works with vision. 

Now, I’m not ashamed to admit that vision is something with which I struggle.  What is vision? Do I have vision?  Do I NOT have vision?  What IS my vision, if I do have it?   DO I have it?? Tell me quick! As you can see, my inner dialogue constantly questions my vision.  Or lack thereof.  Sometimes I feel as though I finally have a grasp on what my vision is, that I’m reaching for the proverbial doorknob of that “aha” moment and about to walk through and embrace it…and then the door slams shut.  How do you know you have vision?  Is it something you find in your photos that you unconsciously keep repeating?  Is it a story you want to tell?  Is it the way in which you want to tell it?  Still with the questions…maybe if I finished the book…

One of the things I do on a regular basis, and it is something we all do or we wouldn’t be here right now [at Shutter Sisters], is go blog hopping.  All of the photo blogs I visit are of photographers who inspire me in one way or another – it might be their images or their words or a combination of them both, but regardless, it is someone whom I think has vision.  Their work might be completely different than mine, but I still learn from them, I still take something away with me…and that is inspiration.

[Thank you to you, my "fellow" photobloggers, my sharers, my friends - you do truly inspire me every day.]