Proof: Amy Toensing on Leaving Your Comfort Zone | National Geographic

I’m always an outsider and I think
that’s sort of the the reality of being
a photographer you’re you’re an invader
and you’re really vulnerable that’s
always the challenge to get through and
it’s incredibly humbling personally I
value being humbled all the time by my
stories they kick me in the butt every
time you know you come into some other
community and it’s kind of like the
vulnerability you have when you’re
trying to learn a new language and so I
have to be ready to go into a place
where I’m like okay I’m stupid I don’t
know anything you know teach me show me
and that’s not always an easy position
to be in but I think that it’s a really
important one for everybody to know get
out of your comfort zone and and that’s
what photography personally does for me
it constantly pushes me out of my
comfort zone it feels so good to look at
beautiful pictures I think when we look
at images we understand something about
the world but it’s always in the context
of ourselves cuz it’s a universal
language a lot of times I feel like I’m
a racehorse or something and if I don’t
get to go out and run around the track I
start going crazy and there’s so much of
this job that’s about you know prepping
the racehorse or negotiating the
business you know trying to get work
trying to figure out your stories doing
research making logistics traveling
pushing the actual shutter is just part
of it but for some reason all that other
stuff that is so tiring and you know
maybe infuriating for some reason it’s
worth it it’s it’s that great that run
around the track is so great that it’s
worth it