Photography Is a Muscle — Train It Daily
What’s poppin’, people? It’s Dante.
Today I want to share with you some ideas about photography and how I believe it’s a muscle that you must train daily.
So here we’re looking at a photograph I made in Tokyo, Japan. I remember during this trip — it was two weeks — and I didn’t do a single thing physically but walk and photograph. I’m typically in the gym every single day. But when I came home from that two-week trip and returned to the gym, I felt a lack of vitality in my physical body from those two weeks of absence.
It reminded me how important it is to remain consistent with our practice — whether it’s photography, weight training, or anything in between.
Consistency is key.
With photography, it’s very simple:
The more that you walk, the more that you see.
The more that you see, the more that you photograph.
The more that you photograph, the more curious you become.
And that curiosity becomes the goal within itself.
Orient Yourself Toward Curiosity
The goal is to orient yourself toward increasing your curiosity each day.
But the question is: How do you cultivate curiosity?
Curiosity is this curious thing. Where does it come from? How can we achieve it?
I believe curiosity is an outward expression of physical vitality.
When your days are filled with enthusiasm — when you’re physically alive — curiosity becomes inevitable.
Think about fatigue.
If you wake up in the morning feeling sluggish, not wanting to get out of bed, it’s going to be nearly impossible to cultivate curiosity — let alone go out and practice your photography.
But if you wake up eager for the day…
If you got deep sleep…
If you ate nutritious food…
If your body feels engaged and ready…
Then let the chips fall as they may.
Embrace the spirit of play and go practice.
Curiosity is born in that enthusiastic state in the morning when you wake up with physical vitality.
Health Is the Ultimate Wealth
I cherish vitality in my body each morning as the ultimate gift in life.
The ultimate wealth is health.
I orient everything in my life around health. I go to bed early. I rise early. I make sure I’m eating properly. I stretch. I do yoga. I strength train.
By remaining consistent and disciplined every single day — almost obsessively — I’ve noticed the results in my photographs improving simultaneously.
I’m becoming more curious about life.
I’m making different photographs than I’ve ever made before.
And it’s because I’ve put physical vitality at the forefront of my everyday life.
Failure Is Part of the Process
When you consider your muscles — how microfibers tear down and replenish during sleep — it’s important to recognize the same pattern in photography.
You will fail.
In order to receive six-pack abs, it requires time. Pain. Suffering. Failure.
With photography, it’s the same.
You might go out every single day and not come home with a great frame.
I would say 99% of the time, you will fail.
But through consistency — through time spent doing the thing — you will eventually see results.
Time compounds.
The Goal Is Found Within the Practice
When I frame the telos — the goal — of photography, I frame it autotelically.
The goal is found within itself.
The goal is the practice.
The process.
The flow state.
When you’re out there photographing, recognize:
The goal is to increase curiosity.
The goal is to remain in flow.
By detaching from the outcome — whether that’s six-pack abs or your next best photograph — I can remain present.
And that mindset shift is what propels me toward infinite curiosity, exploration, and enthusiasm for life.
Photography Is Physical
Photography is a physical act.
You can’t sit on the sidelines of life and make photographs.
It requires you to be out there.
On the front lines.
Physically engaged with the world.
If I neglect my practice, something doesn’t feel right.
It’s the same with the gym.
If I don’t train for a week, two weeks, a month — I have to start from ground zero. It takes time to get back into rhythm.
I just want to perpetually stay on that wheel — incrementally moving my body daily.
Time Spent Doing the Thing
I’m consistent with photography because I recognize the power of time.
I’m not always going to see something surprising.
But I’m still out there.
Because I recognize the passage of time required to make anything great.
By detaching from the outcome and remaining in the flow of production — simply being out there — I cultivate meaning and purpose.
The same way I increase weight on the barbell.
Over time, compounding effort makes me stronger.
Healthier.
More vital.
And that vitality nourishes creativity.
A Life of Vitality
Maybe it’s yoga.
Maybe it’s weight training.
Maybe it’s another physical practice.
Whatever you do daily can influence your photography in ways you’d be surprised by.
Because at the end of the day, photography isn’t just visual.
It’s physical.
It’s you being out in the open world — moving, responding, acting instinctively.
The only life worth living is a life full of vitality.
Without vitality — how will you cultivate curiosity?
With that being said, thank you for watching.
I’ll see you in the next one.
Peace.