Is it for Real?

Using my new web toy StumbleUpon, I came upon an amazing photographer named Mary Ellen Mark. It was a site with a group of her favorite photos she had taken and wrote about each one of them. The photos all consist of people from around the world. It inspired me to want to take pictures of my own. I have always enjoyed taking pictures of people and couldn't wait to get them developed but never had the confidence to do more than just pictures of family and friends. Knowing that this feeling of wanting to do something big seems to occur more than a few times. I cant help but wonder if its for real. Would it be amazing to travel the world? Of course it would. But the pressure to get an amazing photo in a short amount of time is a lot. There are many things I love about this kind of photography, no touch up, or any other reason for taking it other than to show real life. It is so easy to get caught up in things that don't really matter. I know I do. But after looking at those pictures, I was brought back to the real world. It is difficult to explain if you do not know what I mean. It let me see how most of the world lives, not as the few very privileged do. Thank you Mary Ellen Mark for sharing your photos and experiences.