Source of Ideas

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The above picture is a picture of my bed.  I took it with natural light using my new 21mm lens (effective 31.5mm) at an ISO of 6400, f/4.5, 1/50 sec and hand-held.  The only extraordinary thing that I did was to use the camera level to make sure that I was holding the camera level in two planes so that I didn’t get any distortion.  Why am I showing this picture?

In earlier articles I have discussed my intention to take pictures for various projects and that I think we should always have a purpose for taking our pictures.  I have also mentioned that many of my projects do not provide me with pictures that I wish to display individually in my blog.  Much of my photography is a long-term effort to collect a series of pictures in support of a particular story.  The above picture is one for a project about the place where I live; but I’m showing it here to demonstrate something else … one of the ways that I get ideas for projects.

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I subscribe to a magazine called LensWork.  I am just mentioning it here to make the point that I have used many of their “project portfolios” to trigger ideas of my own.  They aren’t identical but in many cases they have been adapted along similar lines.  I quickly get tired of most web articles about camera gear and strive to find articles either in hard print or on the web that give me ideas about what to photograph.  You might want to try the same approach.

2 comments

  1. John from Boston

    Thank you for pointing me to LensWork. What a great source for inspiration! My initial response to your photo is noticing the beautiful dynamic composition. It’s very compelling in that regard, and I spent a good deal of time with it on that level. Next, is the thought that this could be a photo of an inn or a bed and breakfast. Finally, the personal nature of the photo becomes clear when I note the small but important details of the portrait on the wall and the two alarm clocks… this is a somebody’s real bedroom. I think this will be a fine addition to your project.

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  2. Dee

    That old bed captures my attention, love the way the light peeks through under the door, and there must be a window as there is light on the side of the bed. I used to own a lot of antiques as I have lived many old houses, I have only a few left, downsizing homes requires leaving a lot behind. My love of old things brings a smile for the pan under the bed.

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