...it takes a little practice.

Repetition...repetition...repetition.  At the root of learning and retaining new information, as well as creation of fascinating sights, is repetition.  When this occurrence is man-made it can be important and noteworthy, but not as amazing as when it is natural.  I was at a shoot recently when this wall of slate caught my attention.  Each layer rested atop another, building a solid "wall" around 10  - 15 feet tall of pure slate.  This stone barrier was originally a sharp decline near a construction site, but had to be excavated to allow for vehicles and a new building.  What remains is a true work of nature.

How old do think these stones are?

How did the "ingredients" for each layer wind up in that location...and what are they?

What gives it the variety in color and textures...some bright, some muted, some hard and some soft?

Am I the only one amazed by how after thousands of years, this hill (technically, I was standing on the side of a hill that has over many years been carved out for different buildings) could form in such a colorful, symmetrical way?

With each layer of slate that piled on, the hill reached higher and higher above the adjacent valley, and built an even more amazing piece of artwork.

There is a lesson here that I have to keep in mind myself.  Often, when I am trying to learn a new skill or technique, I expect to have it mastered in a matter of minutes.  I forget that it takes practice and repetition. When I was first learning to shoot and edit over a decade ago, I did not walk out of the room an expert.  After years of practice I reached the skill level at which I work today.  Sometimes we are all hard on ourselves, with crazy notions of becoming proficient at a job after one day...give yourself time.  Study, practice and after a week or so you will start notice improvement...after a couple of months even more...and then a year later you will be completely confident, reminiscing of the days when you used struggle over focusing a camera on the fly - or maybe that was just me!

If you ever start to get discouraged, think about how long it took to build this wall - you'll feel better in no time!

That's the Golden Perspective...what's yours?