Killing the Imp: How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome
This is about more than photography; it's even about more than art.
*As always, no AI was used in the writing of this piece or the creation of the images.
The Creative’s Conundrum: Do I Matter?
This is how I saw him: One of those world-traveling types in minimalist sandals, sponsored by Canon (cameras) and Mountain Hardware (clothing); a creative who did his best work behind a lens; a fluent translator of shadow and light (and Mandarin); a world-class photographer living in Tibet, who, if there were any justice in the world, would have graced the pages of National Geographic every month.
This is how he saw himself: A photographer, sure, and a pretty good one. But was he great? Was he professional? Did his work matter? Did anyone care about it? Could he make a living at it? Could he provide for his wife, his coming kids?
That’s my friend (and business partner), Brian Hirschy, and what many don’t know about him is that he’s a bona fide world-class photographer. (View portions of his travel gallery here.) He’s mastered entire genres of photography: travel; landscape; studio portraiture; and environmental portraiture. Some of his photos are, to this day, my favorites, including the pre-game photos of my thirty-somethingth birthday party. (Yes, these were product test shots tailored-made for Ozark irony; don’t judge.)
How could someone with so much talent and ability see themselves as anything other than what they are? How could someone running photography tours on the Tibetan plateau feel as if his art, his work didn’t matter?1
Imposter Syndrome: The Whispering Imp
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