Do you ever feel like you hit a wall, run out of ideas, and feel like the creative avenues have hit a dead end? It's happened here, and I am looking for some inspiration. Normally it's not like me to post things like this on my blog, but I feel like i've gotten to caught up in the business side of my photography and I have lost a little bit of the creative side of what got me to this point to begin with. So here is to goals, and new projects to make things a little more interesting.
I was at a customers home for my full time job, and the customer was this amazing 90 year old woman. She told me how proud she was of the artist that she is. She was bold and even bragged a little about the fact that she was a great self taught painter. I didn't believe her at first, until she took me into her art gallery. She had some amazing, amazing paintings. She told me one thing that has stuck with me and in a way has inspired me to look back at what this is all about, and for. She said, "I didn't start painting until I was 57, and I thought it would be fun to try. I thought if I can create a painting on a small canvas that is pretty good, and satisfies me, then I have succeeded." I spent some time today looking through some of the images that I took when I first bought a camera. I was 13 or 14 when I got onto Ebay and found my first SLR, a Canon T50. I still have the camera today, it still works and takes excellent photos. My next camera was a Canon FTB. The entire reason for me buying this camera was to experiment photographing the stars. A good friend of mine owned a photo printing shop in Provo and had told me about star trail images and how they can be done. About a month after learning about this, I went on a back packing trip to Coyote Gulch in southern Utah. I then took my first star trail image. The image below.
I was at a customers home for my full time job, and the customer was this amazing 90 year old woman. She told me how proud she was of the artist that she is. She was bold and even bragged a little about the fact that she was a great self taught painter. I didn't believe her at first, until she took me into her art gallery. She had some amazing, amazing paintings. She told me one thing that has stuck with me and in a way has inspired me to look back at what this is all about, and for. She said, "I didn't start painting until I was 57, and I thought it would be fun to try. I thought if I can create a painting on a small canvas that is pretty good, and satisfies me, then I have succeeded." I spent some time today looking through some of the images that I took when I first bought a camera. I was 13 or 14 when I got onto Ebay and found my first SLR, a Canon T50. I still have the camera today, it still works and takes excellent photos. My next camera was a Canon FTB. The entire reason for me buying this camera was to experiment photographing the stars. A good friend of mine owned a photo printing shop in Provo and had told me about star trail images and how they can be done. About a month after learning about this, I went on a back packing trip to Coyote Gulch in southern Utah. I then took my first star trail image. The image below.
Canon FTB ISO 400 f4 6 hour exposure
To this day I still find this image to be one of the most inspiring photos i've ever taken. The fact that it even worked out was amazing. The camera was duck taped to a stick that was dug into the sand and supported by several rocks to attempt to keep from shifting and even tipping over during the night while I slept. There was a slight shift through the night, but I think it gives the image a great story. From this point on I probably took 25 rolls of film learning how the camera works and the things that a camera, film and light can do. Here are some of my favorite photos over the years.
So there are just a few of the photos that I have taken that have kept me inspired and motivated to keep on taking pictures.
Now with the goals and making things happen. I Realized yesterday that my camera has been out of the bag twice in the last three months. Realizing this made me kinda sad. So my goals,
1. Focus on themed projects.
2. Experiment more with my camera.
3. Worry more about being creative and having fun than "running a business."
4. Have fun!
5. Make time to go on drives to take photos of things that are currently inspiring. Let my photographic eye do the work and the lens and light make it happen.
Love the post. I'm actually looking for a photographer that wants to do some interesting off-the-wall things for my engagement/wedding pictures. Sounds like that's maybe what you're wanting to do? I've looked everywhere, but can't find your pricing! Could you direct me somewhere that would have that info?
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