it is what it is (on photography and passion)

I used to struggle with my photography thinking that I had to choose: either do it professionally (at least try) or give it up. and then one day I stopped judging it and accepted it for what it is, a part of me, a part of who I am.

So I stopped trying to put a name on it (hobby, passion, amateur?) and just did, what came from the heart, focused on what mattered to me, not what might have been interesting, marketable or unique.

As a consequence of this acceptance I "came out of the closet" and started sharing with people, even strangers! the fact that I took photos. Funnily soon after I started getting commissions and started working as a photographer.

I still do my "day job," development, and at some point people said I had to choose: I had to be a photographer or an aid worker, and I asked "why?" it is also a part of who I am. it is also something that I would miss terribly.

So often I have to turn the gigs down, but I no longer judge that either because it is what it is, just a part of me, and like every other part of me, sometimes it has to wait its turn.