How many of us can say we challenge ourselves constantly? Whether it's photography, blogging or our own personal goals, it's hard to step out of comfort zones.

Failure is something that one has to get over if anyone is going to make it beyond what they do now well.

This became apparent to me while I was playing Counterstrike with some friends of mine. I ended up playing against 2 of them at once which I had never done before. At first I didn't like this arrangement because I like winning, but after sticking with it, I realized a new dimension to the game I didn't have before. Instead of just cruising through, I had to rethink all my strategies and throw out many at the same time. In the end, I came out about even, but with a much greater satisfaction with the way I played that I hadn't experienced for a long time.

Recently, while reading through some photo forums, I came across somebody who was asking us all these questions about flash theory, what settings to use and etc. specifically about fill flash. What surprised me though was that he outlined a great plan to test out everything but hadn't even tried any of them out yet. He wanted to get all our opinions first before we had even seen any pix.

First thought that came to mind, Just Shoot!!! Your using digital, take some snaps and see what comes out. Before digital, learning photography was a beast of a chore to take on. When I was in high school, I either had 24 or 36 exposures, and everyone of them, at least at the time felt like it had to count. Talk about a damper on creativity. Thankfully I learned the way of the bulk roll film contraption.

Digital offers an awesome opportunity to learn photography for what makes it really powerful, not the tech jargon or the equipment, but telling stories and seeing the world through your own personal vision. Don't give up too soon. If you hit a roadblock, go back to it, work it a different way, the only way you'll know is to try.

This may seem a bit too simple for those who are looking for the nirvana of photo advice, but too many times when talking to newbies to digital photo, they don't want to put the work in yet expect great results from only taking a few pictures here and there.

Take the time to invest in reading, shooting and exploring, shooting well, like anything else takes time and commitment, don't give up yet.