My path to Women Street Photographers

Today the cover photograph you are seeing is going on exhibit in New York City. I am extremely honored and thrilled to be part of a large collective of women photographers whose work will be shown for the next several days in one of the largest cities in the world. 

For me, the road to get here has been very long and winding. I picked up photography in my last year of college, when I already knew I’d be going to medical school to pursue the sciences instead of fine arts. Perhaps it was a hobby at first, a distraction of sorts that I didn’t think would ever lead to anything more serious. But as time went on and, as I delved deeper into medicine, ironically my love for photography grew even more. 

I found myself internally conflicted at first, with my time in medical school and residency being very limited and not conducive to pursuing anything else outside of the field. But somehow I persisted in my photographic endeavors. I continued to shoot and devote moments to photography despite the busy schedule. I took time to create new work, I studied other photographers’ images, I engaged with those who found similar passion…And today I find myself even more immersed and excited about the field of photography than I ever was before. 

Throughout that time, I never thought my work was good enough to be recognized by anyone else, but thanks to the encouragement of close friends and family, I started submitting to contests and showing my work. Though the point of a creative pursuit should never be merely an accolade or a prize, as photographers we want to know that our work is appreciated and that it moves others. I am very honored to be recognized today and without the support I have received over the years, this would not have been possible.

Here are a few things I’ve learned on this long and winding path that might be useful to any creative soul struggling with their craft:

Allow yourself the time and energy for the things you are most passionate about. During my busiest and most intense days in medical school and residency, when it would have been the easiest to just let everything else go, I chose not to give up. I continued to pursue photography despite incredibly busy schedule and mental exhaustion. I somehow still found time to shoot and time to learn about photography. This might not have been a consistent part of every day, but just keeping it alive and knowing I can always reach for it was the key to make it all happen.

You can do more than one thing in life and be darn good at it. This is a revelation I have allowed myself to finally accept and firmly believe. I never thought I could be a physician AND a photographer. But seeing others pursue more than one career and succeeding in more than one area of interest finally empowered me to drop these limiting beliefs and understand that yes, you are allowed to be good at more than one thing and that being good in one thing doesn’t preclude you from being great in another! I have previously written a blog post about this precise concept, which is frequently referred to as multipotentiality. Check it out for more on this https://thisphotographylife.com/multipotentiality-what-it-means-for-all-of-us/

Don’t let the naysayers bring you down. I mean it. When I first started taking photos and posting them to photography sharing websites (before Facebook and Instagram even existed), I got trolled and criticized left and right by those who thought they were better than me. Initially, these comments really hurt. They hurt like hell. But then I quickly understood that while there is always room for improvement and that constructive critique can be very useful for a budding photographer, negative comments do not actually serve much purpose other that creating insecurity and doubt and making the trolls feel better about themselves. I also realized that the people criticizing my photographs where the ones who were not actually making any meaningful work themselves but instead chose to waste time trolling others online. I quickly decided to look past the criticism and continue learning and shooting whatever brought me joy. I am so glad I never let the negativity bring me down and stop my work. I would have never gotten to where I am today if I got discouraged so quickly in those early days. 

Share your work with the world – you never know who is watching and who will be positively impacted by the things you create. Numerous times since I started this blog and my social media accounts, I have been pleasantly surprised that people whom I never thought were reading my posts were actually reading them and looking at my photographs. They’d share with me how positively this has impacted them in various ways. Many a times I felt like I was just writing for myself and that is okay. But seeing that others benefit from my words and my photographs gives me a bigger purpose. Same goes for contests – don’t be afraid to submit your work, you never know who may find it valuable. Truth be told, I actually did not think my winning photo was that interesting or good. I did not even include it in my original post from South Africa! However, going through my work weeks later, my dear friend Sonia saw the photograph and was delighted by it, encouraging me to submit it to Women Street Photographers. Again, you never know which photograph or creative endeavor might be considered special by people who are viewing it. 

Just keep going. Seriously, don’t give up. Just keep doing. Make the work you want to make. Pursue your curiosity and your creativity. Take that path no matter how arduous or windy. If you do what you love to do, you will find a way to do it. And don’t give up after a few days. Or months. You never know where the path will take you and who you will impact along the way. 

I would like to take a moment to thank @womenstreetphotographers for choosing my image as a finalist and allowing me the opportunity to exhibit my work in one of the most magnificent cities in the world. It is much appreciated! https://www.womenstreetphotographers.com