New Vision Necessary

The above picture is representative of my biggest problem when it comes to photography … lack of ideas and creativity when it comes to finding scenes to photograph.  I got interested in photography while traveling in foreign countries and since I have cut way back on my travels, I am having a hard time coming up with interesting and different pictures.

My problem, and I have noticed it in other blogs as well, is not my camera or lenses.  My problem is not being creative enough to make interesting pictures, or at least not enough of them, around my home.  I have taken snapshots of most of the “scenery”, have “shot” just about all the local wildlife, and have pulled in tighter on the existing subjects in-order to get different perspectives.  I’m also running out of different, or unique sunrises, sunsets, and clouds.  I have also tried about every minor change of style that I can think of while revisiting older pictures … cropping them differently, converting them to B&W, etc.

One possibility is to travel to new and exotic places but that would only be a short term fix and isn’t likely to happen for other reasons.  I’m hoping that the change of seasons will present me with more opportunities in two different ways.  First the changing leaves, and later no leaves, will present me new views; and second, the cooler weather will encourage me to get out and about more to take some different kind of pictures.  But that isn’t going to be enough.

If I don’t pull something out of the “well” soon I’m going to have to cut back on the number and frequency of my postings … and that is the last thing I want to do.  Therefore, I’m going to dig deeper and renew my search … both for new ideas by reading other photography blogs and books, and by going out more often, and by trying to change my vision … the way I see things.  Hopefully this means that I’ll be coming up with some new stuff in the coming months … and some of it might look a lot different … in fact it has to look a lot different since I have run out of ideas using my old vision.  I now need to find a new vision, but I keep having this voice in my head, something about “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” … but I must try.

3 comments

  1. Dee

    Well, I for one do not think you are lacking in creativity! I love what you have done with your photo’s, and with the change in seasons will come many more opportunities. I love photo’s, I have many coffee table books, one in particular that I love is called Karsh Canadians. It is fascinating, perhaps people might be a good subject but not sure what the copy rights would be, if you are putting on your blog.

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  3. suburbanlife

    One difficulty for most visual creatives is the question of “what should I visualize that is most compelling and unique to me and of which I can try to make sense for others to agree or disagree with?” Technique aside, which must be grappled to the ground in order to attain some ease of mastery, there is the elusive why? – the conceptual underpinning. Many cliches abound in our visual world, however it is most often the “idea” that freezes attention, even if the visual content is somewhat ordinary. At least that’s how it goes for me.
    Perhaps, some soul-searching is in order to ferret out your true passion, your in-the-bone motif, or obsession, if you will. It might help to put the cameras away for a time, and just exercise your eye and mind, perhaps, with passive attention, and let your direct experiences reveal for you the way you might next proceed. Not “doing” is also doing, but it takes our unconscious to ferment much information, which then presents solutions in an amazing way. Take heart, relax, and accept what
    arises. Bonne chance! G

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