My great grandfather was an electrical engineer from England. Apparently he lost the patent on the light meter to a guy named ‘Polaroid’ by 10 days. That would have changed my world a little. When I finally bought my first “real” camera, I did the research, the hand wringing and the consternating, the forth and backing, and then finally – I bought it. I was pretty excited when I did the unboxing, and like a new puppy, for the next month I was pretty much obsessed with my new toy. But eventually I became overwhelmed by the buttons and switches and jargon and at one point I just sat on “automatic” where it stayed there for a long time. Then came smart phones. Then I just put it back in the box. Then I sold it.
Eventually I started building out the Video Seminar course. A part of my process was learning about storytelling and then how to tell a story with a camera. After going through a stage called “G.A.S” (Gear Acquisition Syndrome – aka camera puberty), eventually I went full-circle and realized that it really doesn’t matter at all what camera you use, what matters is that you actually know how use it to tell a decent story. I also learned that there’s a big difference between photo and video: a video is a series of moments strung together with movement, light and audio. A photo is one fraction of a second frozen in time. One of harder than the other, no doubt.
Whether you’re a video person or not, you probably take photos. I call the best photo you take the “Bucket Shot”. It’s the one shot that beats them all. It’s the confluence of everything right – right place, right light, right composition. The Bucket Shot is sort of an accident on purpose, but it’s also that one thing you create and share that people actually stop and pay attention to. Sometimes they even say, “wow”. When I think of the Bucket Shot, I’m reminded of a story about Pablo Picasso. He was sitting one afternoon sipping espresso on a sidewalk café in Venice when a tourist came up and asked him to draw a picture. Reluctantly, Picasso agreed and then he spent the next 10 minutes or so with pencil and paper drawing the requested effigy. The tourist loved it and asked, “How much?” “$10,000 dollars” replied Picasso. “$10,000?” cried the tourist, “it only took you 10 minutes.” “Yes,” Picasso replied, “but it took me 40 years to learn how to do it.”
I love that one.
Your Bucket Shot is something you really want to share, but if someone else doesn’t dig it as much as you, you’ll probably just fly them the finger without a second thought because you love it so much. Your Bucket Shot is the one that you would put on a wall, in a frame, or give residence on the front of the famous refrigerator gallery. Your bucket shot is your braggery, your sharing, and your self-promotion all rolled into one. It’s a beautiful thing. Perhaps the most beautiful you’ve ever created.
And here’s something else: your Bucket Shot might not be a photo. In fact, it might be something completely different. It could be a memory book you made your bestie for her 60h birthday. Or a poem you wrote. Or a cookie you baked. But whatever it is, your Bucket Shot is your creation. It’s something you m a d e. Not the creative type? Sure you are. To create is human, and if you’re reading this right now, chances are you’re a human. If you’re uncomfortable with the whole creation thing, your problem isn’t a lack of creativity, you just need to find the right bucket. And then follow your flow. It really does work.
Do think about your Bucket Shot, but don’t think about it too hard. The irony is that sometimes you set everything up in anticipation of what never comes, and sometimes it just sort of finds you when it’s ready and you’re not looking at all. Kind of like love.
Good luck and have a good week.
Joe Still
2024.06.09
Cite
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
– Michael Jordan