Sharing a scene from Tokyo Disneysea. This place brought back many wonderful memories as it was the first Disney’s theme park that I ever visited. When we first came here, my wife and me weren’t even married back then. I regretted not picking up photography earlier, hence I missed the capture of a lot of beautiful moments and places. Each frame that you capture in your life will always be a beautiful memory eventually, no matter what it feels like during that moment. I am eager to look forward to visiting Tokyo again at the end of the month. Hopefully I can bring back some precious shots that I have missed for so long.

While completing my laps in the pool recently, I thought about how easy it would seem if you are a bystander watching someone swim. It looks so effortless, seeing the swimmers glide from one end of the pool to the other. The reality is really quite different if you are the one huffing and puffing, channeling energy into each stroke as you propel yourself under the resistance of the water. We are so used to seeing events that we sometimes forget how difficult the process can be. Every successful event is the result of the combination of many single arduous process. What we see is the fireworks, what we don’t see is the preparation behind the creation and the execution of the display.

Photography is no different. It is not as easy as it looks. For people who don’t know, how difficult can it be for pressing the shutter? Pressing the shutter is only 1 percent of the entire process for producing an amazing shot. Unless all you want to do is just take a snap, then you can always be in that 1 percent zone.

Photography can change your life but only when you move past just pressing a button. The bulk of the work happens way before you press the shutter. There is a lot of soul-searching to be made before the why and the when of pressing the shutter. Since photography is an expression of you, you have to find out first who you are and what you are all about. After you press the shutter, it doesn’t end there. The other half of the work begins in your selection and processing. It becomes a series of processes that you practice day after day—it becomes a journey of discovery.

I did a Google search on what is the most valuable thing in photography? Guess what pops up? Events pop up. It is about who sold which photo for how many millions. It is about which ones are the most expensive photos. The why and the true value of practicing photography and creating art are not there in the top results.

It is my simple wish that everyone can have a chance to experience the real value of creating and not just look at successful events. It is in my hopes that by sharing, I can inspire you to see the world in a different light. All you need to do is just to look past the surface of things and experience the wonders of creating for yourself.

The joy of the game is always in the process.