lara jade

lara jade is quite possibly one of the most popular photographers you could find online on several sites, including blogspot. today i had a realization. i've known of lara's works ever since i started posting my works online when i started photography 4 years ago. and i admit i am envious of her talents. at first i even hated her. i said things like oh, it's only because she's pretty. and that she edits her pictures a lot. and that the reason she is more successful is because she lives in europe. (the ignorant american that i am) and i knew she was my age, in fact one month younger than me. and that fact killed me even more. how could she achieve so much more than me, if we both started photography in 2005? her work was always better than mine. and i knew it. and i still do believe that. however-
it occurred to me this past year that i need to grow up. i need to stop spending so much time over lara's pictures. envying over how pretty she is, wishing i looked more like her. i'll admit it lara, you are gorgeous. but you deserve to be where you are at. you didn't take an easy road there. and you aren't being cut any breaks even now. in fact there are probably more people now that expressed the same envy and greed that i did when i first came across her pictures. a lot of people are sinister. and i don't need to be one of them. lara needs to be praised for her labor. and photography is work. its not just shoot and aim. thats called a snapshot. a photograph takes thought and creativity put into it. and that is why i commend lara jade. she is a real trooper. and she is brilliant at what she does.
and so, from now on, i'm going to try my best not to be lara jade, in the sense of being one of several people who try to imitate her or her style, but i'm going to try my best to be the lara jade who inspires people with original fresh ideas. in fact i'm going to be myself. and my name is amanda stump. but you can just call me a.stump

...and hey lara... i know you got a brain full of images, as do i. and that's why i like your photos, because their similiar to the images in my head. you just got all the tools and know-hows to portray those pictures. and that's why i admire you. i just hope i'll get there someday.