I absolutely do not think I have anything close to an innate gift for photography. I have zero delusions of grandeur in this regard. It's just something I do, but in which I have definite aspirations; goals that I know are achievable through perseverance and honest self-analysis of my failures and successes.

A few weeks ago I came upon David Hume Kennerly's book. Mr. Kennerly is a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer, and his book, "Photo Du Jour: A Picture-a-Day Journey through the First Year of the New Millennium" is nothing less than breathtaking. Here, on every single page, is the essence of what motivates me toward candid and street photography, but his work is so much more than that.

It's easy to look through this book and say that because he has a press pass, he's got a Pulitzer, he's connected, he's well known, he's invited places, he's got access to important and interesting people, that these are the barriers the rest of us face at being able to capture images such as he has. I think that misses the point of this book entirely.

Mr. Kennerly's work isn't good because he photographs interesting people, it's good because he photographs people doing interesting things. That's the whole nutshell of this book, and, I think, his style.

This is inspirational to me because it says that good work is a discipline, it can be practiced, it can be a habit. It can come as a result of patience, perseverance, and a willingness to get outside my comfortable space and put myself where people are, and just maybe I'll get a few pictures now and then that have that undeniable quality of humanity. Clearly, he's got a hell of an eye for what's interesting; an aesthetic honed, I would guess, from years doggedly following stories.

Mr. Kennerly's book can found on Amazon.com, and his website is here.