The Saxophone and the Camera

I started to learn to play a saxophone several years ago; this was a fulfilment of a childhood ambition. Just like the kid who asked “how much is the doggy in the window” I couldn’t walk past a cash converter shop displayed saxophone and wonder if….! Until the inspirational day came when I had my first saxophone lesson & bought a saxophone.

Within a few days I mastered the basic fingering and could play most chromatic notes starting at C. Playing tunes came sometime later, because learning the fingering takes very little time, but becoming a musician takes a little longer! It has been said that to become a virtuoso musician needs 10,000 hours of practice….I don’t have that time! But whatever the level of ambition, playing well still needs practice.

Now what on earth has this got to do with the camera?

If you have been attracted to this piece, you are either a sax player or a photographer or possibly both. However, you may be an amateur photographer who is thinking about turning your hobby into paid employment. You have a camera, and just like the fingering of a saxophone you know your way round the controls. But just like owning & fingering the saxophone doesn’t make you a professional musician, neither does owning a camera make you a professional photographer. Each requires dedication and commitment, evidenced by a desire to learn and improve. The musician needs good ears (and rhythm). And the photographer needs good eyes; the former to hear beyond mere sounds, the latter to look instead of just seeing, which involves composition and design. Here the two part company: professional photography requires good business acumen and clients because ultimately without them there’s no income and you starve! And the musician needs the drive to withstand the adversities of living a musician’s life amidst the demands for living.