At 09:08 PM 8/20/2002 +0300, Kostas wrote: >i guess you all had your moments of lack of inspiration combined with no >great achievents (aka a writer's block), but mine seems to been going on >for some months now...(much like my radio days go) > >furthermore it'm getting no further, concerning the quality of my photos, >to the extend that teh 2 last concert sessions were, maybe, the worst >these year. > >i wonder if i have reached the end of my abilities, or if it is a matter >of equipment. A new camera with autobracketing and IR focusing beam would >help, along with some f/2.8 auto focus lenses, but it is not always the >materials that count. >i even felt that technique can help you with equipment defficiencies, but >now i wonder. > >so what do you think? what's the way out? Kostas, this is something we all go through from time to time. There are temporary blocks and there are more permanent ones. Lets look at the gloom and doom first. Photography is an Art and as an art form, we each have different talent levels. Few of us are Rembrandt's as few of us are Adams's. There will be a point where you hit the end of your creativity and everything else stars looking the same. You will find people who make better looking stuff and you wonder why you can't get there. There is an end of the road. The good news, is I believe only a few of us actually ever hit that limit and those that do are the Rembrandt's. I don't see my sports work getting any better. My 15 year old is taking as good a photos now as I do. This bothers me somewhat, but in the end, the photos are still better than what my customers can take so they keep buying. Now what you more likely are seeing is a temporary block. There are a lot of ways to handle it. Lets look at several options: 1. New Toys. While the photographer is the one who makes a photo, having a new camera, or more importantly a new lens can inspire you to get back in the saddle and start shooting. Perhaps you need a digital SLR like the Nikon D100 or the Canon D60 to get your hunger going again or perhaps a wide angle lens or a big telephoto. They can act like a catalyst to get you going again. Recently I added a mid-zoom and I've quit living at the extremes. (Before flames start, remember a catalyst is something you add to a mixture that doesn't end up in the final formula but starts a reaction...... a new camera won't make his pictures better but it might motivate him.....) Likewise, this works in reverse, pick up some old clunker like a Kodak Brownie and force yourself into is quite limited world. Perhaps you need to do some darkroom work. 2. Spend some time at the library. Read some art books. Look at photo books by other authors. Find something that interests you, such as "studio lighting" and learn about that. Look at photos in magazines and figure out how they were lit and try and duplicate it. Then try and improve upon it. If nothing else, just read a novel. Reading works the imagination and imagination is key to creativity. 3. Do some creativity exercises, a popular one suggested frequently on here is to pick a number between 1 and 10, drive exactly that many miles away from your home, Spend at least one hour photographing that spot, shoot at least two rolls of film. 4. Pick a simple theme, like sunsets, flowers, etc. Something you don't shoot much of and work on shooting that for a while. Somwhere in there the block will break and you will go back to enjoying the craft. Rob -- Rob Miracle Photographic Miracles 203 Carpenter Brook Dr. Apex, NC 27502 http://www.photo-miracles.com
