Regarding competition— it is pointless. Photography isn’t a competition. There are no clear winners or losers (like in basketball, football, tennis, etc). It isn’t a zero-‐sum game. There is no real way to “keep score” — except via the number of books you’ve published, the shows you’ve had, how prestigious the other photographers you know, etc. Also the danger of trying to “compete” with other photographers is that there is no clear indication whether you have “won” or not — so you continue to strive towards becoming more and more “successful” — and it is just a negative spiral downwards after that. Furthermore, don’t make photographs for the approval of others— do it to please yourself, something deeply intrinsic that needs to be satisYied. Another quote we can paste onto our walls from the tao te ching: “Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt. Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench. Care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner. Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity. If anything, we should be happy for those who are doing better than us— we should just photograph because it makes us happy and we enjoy it: “The best athlete wants his opponent at his best. The best general enters the mind of his enemy.
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