One Thing (Curly Was Right) | Lens and Life Episode 1
Do you remember Curly from City Slickers? Episode one of Lens and Life starts there. Pete George reflects on forty years behind a camera, a man in Bali with a bike full of cardboard, and what photography eventually taught him about paying attention.
About five minutes. Take a breath before you press play.
0:00:00 - (Peter George): Do you remember Curly from City Slickers? When he holds up one finger and he says, the meaning of life is one thing and you have to figure out what it is. It took me a long time, but I think I'm getting close. Here's how I got closer to my one thing without even realizing I was looking for it. I learned photography the way most people do in a classroom. Aperture, shutter speed, ISO. How to make a technically correct photograph.
0:00:38 - (Peter George): And for a long time, I thought that was the goal. If I could just master the camera, I'd master photography. But here's what I didn't realise at the time. The Technical foundation actually gave me the freedom I didn't know I was going to need. Because when life got messy, I didn't have to think about the camera anymore. I could just think about the moment. The camera became instinct, which meant I could pay attention to life instead of dials.
0:01:14 - (Peter George): And that changed everything. Photography becomes something else for me later, not just something I did, something I leaned on, somewhere I could breathe when life didn't feel steady. And like most people, life had a few lessons waiting for me. Health struggles, mental battles. Moments when you realise you're not as strong as you thought you were. Moments that slow you down whether you want them to or not.
0:01:44 - (Peter George): I had some of those. And those moments don't usually change you all at once. They change you quietly, bit by bit, until one day you realize you're seeing things differently. Somewhere along the way, something shifted. I started noticing things I never used to see. Not because I tried harder, because I finally slowed down. I didn't become a better photographer because of the camera. I became better because I finally started paying attention to life.
0:02:22 - (Peter George): The small moments, the proud moments, the tired moments, the moments where someone says nothing but you can see everything. The human moments. Most people walk straight past, and once you start seeing them, you can't really unsee them. I remember a moment in Bali. A man standing next to his bike stacked with cardboard he'd collected. He didn't say anything. He just stood there, proud as anything. I pointed the camera. He nodded.
0:02:58 - (Peter George): That wasn't me taking a photo. That was two people seeing each other. That's when I really understood what I was looking for. Not photographs. Understanding. Understanding people. Understanding moments. Understanding what really matters. I realised something else, too. Photography didn't teach me how to see life. Life taught me how to see. Photography just gave me a way to share it. That's the difference.
0:03:34 - (Peter George): And I think that's really where this podcast comes from. Not photography. Life. Photography just happens to be the lens I look through. Because the world feels fast right now. Everything is instant. Everything is loud. Everyone's talking, but not many people seem to be listening. Not many people seem to be noticing. This podcast isn't about having the answers. It's about slowing down enough to ask better questions.
0:04:07 - (Peter George): It's about conversations, perspective, the small details that end up being the big things, the things life teaches you if you pay attention. And maybe that's what I've been getting closer to. Not success, not perfection, not even photography. Just understanding what actually matters. Maybe Curly was right. Maybe the secret really is one thing. I don't know if I fully found mine yet, but I know I'm closer than I used to be.
0:04:41 - (Peter George): And maybe that's all any of us are really trying to do. Get a little closer, understand a little more, pay a little more attention. And maybe that's where lens and life really begins. Thanks for being here. This is just the beginning of the conversation. I'm Pete George, and thank you for getting to this part of the podcast. And I always share these words, shoot with purpose and share with heart.