Sunrise at Sandbridge Beach, Va., by Steve Piacente

It’s easy to settle into old patterns, accept things as they come, and — usually with a shrug — decide that good enough is good enough.

As a communications consultant and life coach, I always advise clients to grow and expand, increase their range, and get that great idea they’ve had forever out of their head and onto the table.

Do I take my own advice? Not always, but this time I did. Those who know me know I’ve been a hobby photographer forever. As of this holiday season, I now have my own commercial site.

Ringed Sunset in Asheville, Va., by Steve Piacente

Here’s an interesting stat: More than 1.8 trillion photos are taken a year worldwide. But what is a photograph? To me, it is an instant of stark beauty that no one can alter or take away.

The camera freezes a moment better than the brain, making a photo more reliable than a memory. Call up the photo in five years and it will look the same — crisp and true as the moment it was taken.

Time frays the edges of a memory, swapping accuracy for nostalgia. Or convenience. Or to align with some new set of beliefs. The brain is bound by a law that decrees change as life’s one constant. The camera is unfettered in this way. It simply records the moment. No confusing emotions rise in that instant — or ever — that might cloud the image.

That’s the philosophy behind my images. Much has changed since I came along back in 1954, when Eisenhower was president, no one beat the Yankees, and Elvis was still an unknown. As I’ve gone through life as a journalist, author, professor, speechwriter, and communications consultant, my camera was — and is — always by my side.

I hope you’ll let me know what you think of this new adventure.

Arizona Mountain ‘Scarface”

Steve Piacente is the owner of Next Phase Life Coaching, Director of Training at The Communication Center in Washington, D.C., and the author of three novels and a self-help book: “Your New Fighting Stance: Good Enough Isn’t, and You Know It.” He recently launched piacentephotos.com .

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