I work with a hot air balloon company in the Serengeti. After the balloon experience, we drive clients to the Visitor Center to meet their safari guide. On the drive back, one of the visitors said, "I love taking photos of sunrise or sunset with dead trees on the horizon, but I guess it's not everyone's interest."
Without hesitation, I raised my hand and said, "I do." I grabbed my phone and showed her a couple of photos I have of exactly that, and she seemed genuinely delighted. The conversation ended there, but it lingered on my mind.
It later struck me that she might have been highlighting the tension between following the group's flow and making room for individual preferences... We're always trying not to be "that guy", you know the one to disrupt the group's rhythm.
But this conversation was a reminder that even when something isn't everyone's cup of tea, you can still drink and enjoy it. It's okay to be weird and different. It's okay to see things in your own way, even if everybody else around you sees it another way.
She's not a photographer, but we love the exact same thing. Seriously, picture a wide open horizon with a single dead tree in the distance – that's my kind of view. Or a table top acacia glowing in the golden light of a Serengeti sunset. That gets me.
Till next time, See you soon.
Hemedi