Today's ramblings were inspired by a Tweet from the f50 Collective, the post involved the famous list entitled "Approach" written by the late great Tony Ray Jones, obviously the list is great advice for any tog as it stands but this list sends a revealing message and lesson to those of us who are prepared to look beyond its written content.

I'm unsure of when this "note to self" was created but it reveals a level of insecurity and dissatisfaction with the work Ray Jones was creating at this time and this for me demonstrates great strength, the ability to continuously question how personal photography can be improved and made more interesting should be part of any ambitious togs thought process , regardless of your experience.

How critical are you of your own work and approach ? What can you do differently the next time your out shooting ? Are your pictures boring ? To see evidence of Tony Ray Jones going through the process of self improvement should inspire us all to do likewise,

Its interesting to note that many of the best togs are never really happy with the work they produce, the pursuit of improvement is continuous for top togs, in fact quite often this is the motivating factor as they seek to improve on what many of us already envy !

I have already admitted that less than 5% of my pix meet my own personal expectations, and this is the key point, learn from your failures rather than celebrate your successes as the failures can teach you most and help you improve your pictures.

What would your approach list look like, be careful what you write as someone might publish it in fifty years time and read more into it than you ever intended ?

Have a word with yourself and keep it real !