Breaking from the Herd
It seems simple, right? I mean, you, as a photographer,
just have to take pictures. How hard is that, how hard is it to just go take pictures? The hard part isn't clicking the button, it's not understanding apertures or shutter speeds, it's not even finding the time to go click that button, or enduring the bite of the cold wind as you work outside in the not-so-pleasant months of the year. For me, I think the hard part is the state of mind. It's being in "the groove," getting the creative juices free flowing, properly executing your unique perspective on the chunk of the world you are capturing in present time. It's creating photographs that are new, different, and refreshing to look at. We live in such a contradictory world. We live in a place where we are taught, either directly through our friends, family, and peers, or indirectly through magazines, news, and other media outlets how we should live our lives and think. It's the message that you are brainwashed with since day 1 of your life, "you will do this, look like this, act like this, spend money like this if you want to be happy and successful" (in a nutshell). We are taught to live by these rules, walls, and boundaries all over the place, to emulate that which is around us in both a personal and professional sense (coincidentally, we call these people who follow the rest of the flock "normal"). Yet, at the same time individualistic, out-of-the-box thinking is what people stop to appreciate, it's this thinking process that separates them from the rest. We tend to call it "breaking the mold" when something comes along and slaps us in the face, opening our own minds through other people's visions and creations. It's a really cool thing. Simply put, it's inspiring. In a way, inspiration for me is basically an escape from the mundane, it reminds me how important it is for myself to continue to create original works. Inspiration is my fuel as a photographer, it keeps my head in the right place, and keeps my work fluid and the ideas rolling in. For me, it's a kick in the ass to ensure I continue to think "outside of the box." It's a large motivator to keep me shooting, shooting personal work when I'm not shooting clients.
