Sometimes it is the little things

Photo Randy Vanderveen, Grande Prairie, Alberta A macro shot showing both mature mountain pine beetles and those in the larvae stage on a dime to show their relative size. Photo Randy Vanderveen, Grande Prairie, Alberta This winter more than 15,000 beetle-infested trees are going to be cut down just in the Evergreen Park — the Grande Prairie-area fairgrounds — vicinity alone. While tiny the mountain pine beetle thanks in part to its huge numbers is beginning to devastate the forests in northwestern Alberta just like the insect did in British Columbia.

I am sure you have heard the expression "Don't sweat the small stuff and it's all small stuff."

While the expression might apply to worry in our lives it doesn't apply to forgetting to look after the little things whether it is in our business, our photography, or our relationships with our families.

I am not saying a person needs to worry about every little thing, advice I really need to personally take to heart, however, if we don't look after the little things when they arise soon they become big things.

While the mountain pine beetles pictured above are examples of this, there are many others. Even something simple like regular maintenance on a car, house or camera is a small task, but failing to do it regularly results in some big problems further down the road.

On the other hand, little gestures compounded can also do great things.

The world has seen an example of that recently with giving to Haiti.

Much of the money donated for the relief efforts have come in denominations of $5, $10, $20, or even $100 and yet it has added up to millions in total.

Even the development of habits both good and bad work this way. To develop a good habit like exercise isn't done by starting off by running a marathon daily as soon as a person decides he or she needs to get more exercise. Rather it is by perhaps walking a half-hour a day to start off or running a half-mile. Eventually you might get to the point where you are in good enough shape to compete in a marathon, but you need to start somewhere and usually with something small.

Proof that it by looking after the small things in our lives will result in the big things in our lives being dealt with too.

For those of you interested in photography it is the same way — you aren't going to be a Yousuf Karsh the first time you take a photo, however, by working on your craft, experimenting and shooting photographs and analyzing and studying both what went right and what didn't, you will improve your skills and who knows...