finding direction

sand. tulum, mexico.
© kevin t vu

i’ve been reading the book outliers by malcolm gladwell. its been a catharsis for my own self-reflection and how i see the road ahead of me. i’m only a thirds way through, but in it, he explains the circumstances by which one becomes an ‘outlier’ (ie. hugely famous/successful). he further goes into it by describing that many successful people have an average of 10,000 hours, roughly ten years, of hard work and dedication in their respective fields.

first, i wonder to myself, do i have the skill set, timing and circumstances to become a successful photographer? and second, looking at my own experience, starting w/ london and my graduate work which was ’07. and it now being days away to ’09. the realization that i have 8 more years, if i survive that amount of time, and then maybe…. maybe i’ll be a successful photographer, can be a bit daunting to swallow.

“SUCCESS IS A FUNCTION OF PERSISTENCE AND DOGGEDNESS, AND THE WILLINGNESS TO WORK HARD FOR 22 MINUTES, TO MAKE SENSE OF SOMETHING THAT MOST PEOPLE WOULD GIVE UP ON AFTER 30 SECONDS.” – malcolm gladwell

patterns and me

from time to time, i look down and find myself above interesting patterns.
© kevin t vu

i went into the santa fe workshop studios today. and i’ve met a lot of the course assistants and administrative people. everyone seems very nice. like i said previously, i dont start til monday. but i wanted to come in and see what i should expect. the space itself isnt great. its a big gymnasium. not an ideal studio, especially when u divide it into 6 small ‘bays.’ and w/ new mexico heat, 20+ participants and no air conditioning, it’ll be a struggle. but a struggle i gladly want to be a part of.

i fell in love w/ the equipment! i mean, when there are about 10 elinchrom lighting kits + some 10 profoto kits + 20 odd pocket wizards, thats just heaven!!! and thats not all. there’s so much more!!! i felt like a kid in a candyshop. i wish i could have it all to myself though.

i’ve been talking to some of the already seasoned employees about the season and what my duties would entail. apparently, since i’m studio ‘manager,’ i’ll probably be the busiest person here. which again, is a duty i gladly take on. i hate having free time while i’m at a job. so a job that keeps me running all day is perfect for me. i think it’ll be a lot of inventorying since i’m in charge of about $500,000 worth of equipment. karen, my studio assistant, said i’ll probably be working a lot of 14 hr days. so its pretty much like some assisting gigs that i’ve done. making sure the photographer gets what he/she needs. ie. kiss ass. i’m excited to get this season started and be part of a photographic community again, something i really miss from london.

which brings me to another point, i’ve been contemplating of moving back to the uk. so we shall see. the crappy things about that are the exchange rate and that my work permit would cost me about $800. i’ll make a final decision as this summer season ends.