Creativity and Blocks...
Posted 07-16-2009 at 04:52 AM by Mike_PEAT
I confess, I never understand how people have photographic blocks when there's so much you can learn out there, and so much you can photograph, and photograph in different ways.
If you read the blog on "My History" you would see I've been photographing for a few decades (although I'm not going to say how many, no, I'm not THAT old), but in all that time I've personally never had a photographic block. Why? I've always looked to trying something new...whether it's different type of equipment, lenses, or different techniques.
I'm on many photographic forums, and I see a common trait among the "blocked" messages...people shoot the same thing over and over again, they don't try anything new or different.
Photography is a HUGE hobby where you can always learn something new (still am after all those decades). Just for example last month I bought a semi-fisheye (150 degree view)...it takes a lot of practice to use one without getting flare (or your feet) in the picture; not to mention it creates fun shots. Also in my collection I have a Lensbaby (a selective focus lens, you can have part of the image in focus and part out of focus).
Try a creative filter that distorts the image, yes these days you can emulate 99% of the filters on the computer, but the fun is trying to capture a usable shot in the camera with optical distortion rather than digital.
Try painting with light...this is one of my favourite things to do...where you hold the shutter open in a totally darkened room and wave LED lights in front of the lens to create a "painting".
Along the lines of painting with light, move the camera while the shutter is open, zoom the lens, make patterns moving the camera. I love going to the fair every year and waiting until dark when I can do this with all the coloured lights from the rides and the concession stands.
Try painting with flash, hold the shutter open (and have a friend guard the camera) and walk around firing off a flash (at lower power and in the telephoto position), add coloured gels. Try to capture motion with flash (firing the flash multiple times for the same exposure, when someone has moved).
My future plans include photographing smoke, photographing water (both freezing it with flash, and using dyes to create interesting patterns), making and using a pinhole lens, and more advanced painting with light.
I have a small sample of creative images I've created over the years at:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/08...ative_Variety/
These aren't my best images, just a variety to inspire.
If you read the blog on "My History" you would see I've been photographing for a few decades (although I'm not going to say how many, no, I'm not THAT old), but in all that time I've personally never had a photographic block. Why? I've always looked to trying something new...whether it's different type of equipment, lenses, or different techniques.
I'm on many photographic forums, and I see a common trait among the "blocked" messages...people shoot the same thing over and over again, they don't try anything new or different.
Photography is a HUGE hobby where you can always learn something new (still am after all those decades). Just for example last month I bought a semi-fisheye (150 degree view)...it takes a lot of practice to use one without getting flare (or your feet) in the picture; not to mention it creates fun shots. Also in my collection I have a Lensbaby (a selective focus lens, you can have part of the image in focus and part out of focus).
Try a creative filter that distorts the image, yes these days you can emulate 99% of the filters on the computer, but the fun is trying to capture a usable shot in the camera with optical distortion rather than digital.
Try painting with light...this is one of my favourite things to do...where you hold the shutter open in a totally darkened room and wave LED lights in front of the lens to create a "painting".
Along the lines of painting with light, move the camera while the shutter is open, zoom the lens, make patterns moving the camera. I love going to the fair every year and waiting until dark when I can do this with all the coloured lights from the rides and the concession stands.
Try painting with flash, hold the shutter open (and have a friend guard the camera) and walk around firing off a flash (at lower power and in the telephoto position), add coloured gels. Try to capture motion with flash (firing the flash multiple times for the same exposure, when someone has moved).
My future plans include photographing smoke, photographing water (both freezing it with flash, and using dyes to create interesting patterns), making and using a pinhole lens, and more advanced painting with light.
I have a small sample of creative images I've created over the years at:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/08...ative_Variety/
These aren't my best images, just a variety to inspire.
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