The shallow end of the pool is the safe end, as well as the
social end (which is partly what makes it so safe). It’s where kids play Marco Polo, have chicken fights, and
where adults engaged in low-impact exercise. And all of it’s fun and worthwhile—a good time is had by
all.
More dangerous things happen over at the deep end, mostly as
solo activities. The high
dive looms and beckons, and for many it represents a fear that may or may not ever
be conquered. Even if other kids jostle and wait
on the high dive ladder, when it’s your turn, it’s just you, all alone, looking
down to the water below. The impact
might hurt a little, or even a lot.
But thoughts of the thrill of the ride down and the sense of
accomplishment push you off the board, into free fall. You made it past the hard part—getting
the courage to go.
Once you get back to the crowd at the shallow end, you might
get admiration or ridicule, depending on how things went. But the glory or the ridicule is all
yours—you own it. Nobody remembers
who did what in a game of Marco Polo—because nobody plays the game for that
reason. It’s fun while you’re
playing, and when it’s over, it’s over.
But people may remember a perfect dive, or a horrible
belly-flop—for the rest of the afternoon anyway. And the thing is, they probably respect both equally. Good or bad, at least you did it.
They’ll also remember the kid who refuses to play Marco Polo
at all though, too. And unless
that kid is so obsessed with diving that it’s understandable there’s no time
for games, an anti-social reputation could take hold. For most
people, that's not ideal, and it’s better not be all one
or the other. Sometimes you play
with the group; sometimes you go off the deep end. Both are generally important.
So it’s worth thinking about what’s your deep end for
photography, and what’s the shallow end—and do some of both, knowing which
one’s which.
