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The Getty

The Getty is one of my favorite places in Los Angeles and the first place I visited with my first DSLR back in 2008. Since that time, I've returned many times, with many cameras, and made many, many photographs. No matter how many times I return however, I never grow tired of the wonderful architecture or the inspiring exhibits. 

We spent some time people watching in the garden during our trip this weekend and I noticed how much fun everyone was having capturing the flowers throughout the garden with every type of camera imaginable. I thought back about my first trip with my shiny, new DSLR and the fun I had experimenting with depth of field and shutter speeds. It was a good reminder of the simple joy I use to get from looking through the viewfinder, clicking the shutter, and seeing the image on the back of my camera. It sounds so simple, but then again, that's kind of the point. Photography can be as challenging and difficult as we make it, but sometimes it's important to let all that go and just snap away for the sake of making pictures.

Revisiting Hong Kong

It's no secret that I love my photography gear. I also spend more time than I should reading camera and lens reviews; usually while tolerating the public transportation system here in Southern California. This week, I devoted my time after work to my Lightroom library instead of the usual gear related websites and revisited my photographs from Hong Kong. Doing so not only brought back great memories of our trip last December, but also allowed me to discover the following collection of images that were completely untouched. I spent some time working with them in Silver Efex and came away with photographs that I truly love. Hopefully, these images will help me remember that my love of photography goes much deeper than playing with shiny, new gadgets.

Thinking Inside the Box

Still struggling to find my creativity, I decided to take my own advice and turn to the work of others for some inspiration. While reading David duChemin's blog and looking through Josef Hoflehner's images, I realized how little I knew about shooting in the classic 1:1 aspect ratio. I must admit, even though I was on Instagram for a short while, I never really got swept up into the Hipstamatic/Instagram craze. Maybe it's because my love of photography didn't originate in the film days or maybe it's because I just don't care for the look of images processed in those apps. Whatever the reason, I haven't spent too much time thinking about how my images would look in a square format. 

After reading David duChemin's thoughts on the Fujifilm XE-1, I realized that my X-Pro1 lets me shoot in a 1:1 aspect ratio using either the optical or electronic viewfinders. This realization immediately got me thinking about the things I could do to change my routine the next time I'm out shooting. My first thoughts include combining the square format with the various film modes available with the X-Pro1. At this point, the possibilities seem endless, which is a good thing. I just need to keep the wheels turning until I have a chance to go out to make some photographs. In the meantime, I decided to crop a few of the images I made last month of the San Clemente Pier in the 1:1 aspect ration to try and start seeing in the square format. Here are two of the photographs that I cropped and then converted to black and white using Silver Efex Pro 2. Stay tuned for more photographs from my new project, hopefully soon.

Sparking Creativity

I've have a hard time finding my creativity since returning home from our recent trip. Looking back, this seems to be a pretty regular occurrence for me. As I thought more about my past creative ruts, I realized there are certain things I do that always get me out of them. Here are a few of these things that consistently spark my creativity and help to get me going again.

Turning to Others

In his eBook, The Inspired Eye, David duChemin talks about increasing your inputs. The idea is to take in as much creativity as possible in order to give yourself plenty to work with. (I’m totally paraphrasing here and most likely not doing the idea justice, so you should really go and check out the eBook.) This, more than anything else, has helped me when I feel like I’m stuck creatively. I'll spend time online looking at the work of other photographers or head out to a local museum to see an art exhibit. As I observe the work of others, I almost always start to come up with ideas for work I want to make myself.

Changing Routines

Another thing I do when I’m feeling stuck is change my routine. This can be something small like trying to shoot at mid-day when the light is not what I normally prefer or something big like shooting at a single focal length for 30 days. The thing I’ve been trying recently to change my routine is to set the color mode on my camera to black and white. Since I have the option of shooting in RAW, I can still have access to the color version if I want them, but using this color mode means everything I see on my LCD is in black and white. It may not seem like a big change but I am always amazed how different the world looks with the color taken away.

Revisiting Old Work

The thing I’ve realized is that as I change, so too does my photographic vision. When looking over my older pictures, I usually find things that catch my eye which I didn’t notice before. Images that I didn’t pay much attention to previously will now make me pause. And as I spend more and more time revisiting my old work, I also start to find themes in my work that I simply did not see before. Maybe it’s because enough time has passed and I can now see the forest from the trees, or maybe it’s because I’m learning to find commonalities in my work. Either way, revisiting my old work has not only help me find old images to work with, but has also given me ideas for new work that compliment what I already have.

 

Fresh Eyes

We’re off to the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks for vacation Wednesday and I’m very much looking forward to the new photographic opportunities that await me during our trip. It’s great how a change of environment can often renew my enthusiasm for image making. Just the simple act of visiting a new place can bring back that child-like excitement I experienced when I first saw the world through a lens. The problem, however, is that opportunities for exploration and travel come but a few times a year.

The real key then, is to find a way to sustain that creative enthusiasm even when I don’t have a chance to get away. I must find a way to see the things I see everyday through fresh eyes; to maintain my love of photography even when I feel like there’s nothing interesting to photograph. For me, the secret is to continuously re-visit old places; places that I may have photographed dozens of times. While these visits may sometimes turn out fruitless, the mere act of getting outside with my camera is usually enough to keep me moving forward in my search for creative vision.