Sharing Knowledge - Opening Up New Doors
I come from an Audio Visual background but have been into photography for a very long time. In the AV world I have worked with and met a lot of people and I must say it is a very interesting world to live/work in.
The last company I worked for before my current full time job had some very interesting characters who came from a very interesting school of thought. A few of these people were set in that “old school mentality” where they don’t believe in knowledge sharing with others. They believe that they had to learn it on their own, be it through books or manuals or whatever the case may have been so why should they bestow their wisdom upon others without them having to do any work. I know that this way of thinking is not new nor is it specific to the Audio Visual world. I have heard photographers speak of how it was like that in the photography industry too.
For the life of me I cannot wrap my brain around this narrow minded way of thinking. In today’s day and age, if you have any knowledge why wouldn’t you want to share it with others? Wouldn’t it benefit the photography industry in the long run? Wouldn’t it benefit everyone in every industry if knowledge were openly shared? Perhaps it is because we are in the digital age and information is so readily and easily accessible to everyone, I don’t know.
I have only been in the photography industry in a serious manner for a few years now but I can definitely tell you with no hesitation that I have NEVER experienced that old school way of thinking or knowledge hoarding. If anything, it has been the exact opposite. I have been welcomed with open arms and had so much knowledge bestowed upon me at times it can be incredibly overwhelming and very hard to consume let alone process all the knowledge. As a matter of fact I was just speaking the other night with a friend/fellow photographer from Mississippi and she was more than willing to entrust some insight and share some avenues to explore which could assist me in getting some recognition for my work and possibly open up a few doors for me.
I can tell you one thing with certainty. Knowledge is out there for the taking and sharing. I have seen and experienced it first hand and I love that more than I can tell you in words. This is just ONE of the many reasons for my passion and love of photography. I am fiercely proud to say that I am part of this amazing industry at this moment in time.
Image courtesy of xmpus.com