What is square one, and can you actually go back to it?
Photography, a hobby I picked up seven years ago, is fascinating to me because every photo is unique in its own way. Yet in each unique photo, there is always room for improvement and endless possibilities for perfection. For this exact reason, I have time and again returned to the same location in search of a better shot.. To me, this is what it means to go back to square one. Capturing a good shot is only half of the story when it comes to the pursuit of a perfect picture. Post processing is equally important--what I choose to enhance or minimize of the unedited frame can make or break a photograph’s potential. During this process, as I toy with contrast levels or adjust light exposure, I often discover new pockets of opportunity. A certain shadow effect or color density created in Photoshop pushes me to wonder if I can capture that enhanced version in nature. Thus, armed with my camera and knowledge from the first attempt, I return to these old locations in search of the same but improved photograph.
So, can you go back to square one? Absolutely, but going back to square one is a choice that one has to make. It’s a choice that comes with trade-offs and can require great courage and persistence. However, other times the return to square one is not a result of conscious choice but rather external factors outside of one’s control. Last year, I saw a photograph of two young dancers in performance that I still remember vividly. These dancers had each lost a limb in the devastating Sichuan Earthquake several years ago. I felt deep sorrow for the dancers’ loss, but at the same time was in awe of their persistence in relentlessly pursuing their dreams. Those dancers had their progress wrenched from them in an unimaginable setback, but instead of giving up their dream, they chose the difficult path that only the very few would dare to try. It was the courage, the determination, and the effort it took to overcome the pain and hardship that made their success powerful.
The act of returning to the same location to retake a photo is driven by my own desire to improve something I created. However, in these instances, I never consider myself to actually be in the exact same position as the last time.. Though I may physically be in the same spot, mentally I am different. I have learned and am prepared to avoid making the same mistakes. More importantly, I now have a better understanding of the editing approach and how I might unmask more of the natural beauty that was previously made visible to me only through computer edits. Although the situation of the two young dancers is much graver, they too were given a new perspective. They were forced to restart from the very first step and re-learn everything. But did they really go back to square one? Their determination to achieve a higher goal only strengthened due to a renewed sense of purpose and sheer mental strength. Beyond dancing for their own interests, they are now bolstered by their desire to fight for a new life and chase the dreams of their parents, their previous dance mates, and their colleagues, who had passed away during the earthquake.
I am grateful that photography has taught me to recognize the value of starting from scratch. I remind myself that if I view setbacks with a purely negative attitude, then I will struggle to improve and fail to learn from my mistakes. With a negative mental attitude, the dancers would never have returned to the stage. They would have remained at square one and succumbed to the weight of their loss. I know that I will face much more hardship in the future, and will go back to square one whether willingly or unwillingly. In either scenario, I will continue to embrace my positive outlook and quest for perfection.
In life there will always be the possibility of encountering obstacles, setbacks, mistakes, and even chaos, that will lead you to go back to square one. Square one will always be there to serve as a familiar starting point, but if I’m doing it right, I’ll never really go back to square one. With every re-do or start-over, I’ll always have a new tool, skill, or perspective in my arsenal. Going back to square one is what will make me “antifragile”and thrive from disorder, chaos, stressors, and setbacks. It is what gives me the opportunity to learn, rethink, and improve.