Luis' Top Ten Photographer's Block-Busters
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10.- Photograph your oldest living relative.
9.- Go camping by yourself for a weekend, take only one
(waterproof) disposable camera. Take nothing to read,
no radio, nothing. Get lost (and you just might find yourself).
8.- Get seriously intoxicated (illegal substances included)
with a good friend. Bring a camera along, preferably
a P&S. The friend is your designated driver (or bring cab
money).
7.- Raid your local library's art and photo section. Steal liberally
from the greats. The theft won't work, but the thievery itself
is a good thing --- it will get you shooting again, and the
frustration of having to deal with alien energies will generate
a frisson you can put to good use, and most importantly,
help remind you of who you are.
6.- Stop carrying a camera. Start carrying a journal. Go walking,
just to see. Make notes/ drawings, watercolors of what interests
you. It's amazing how much one sees while camera-less ! Do this
(outside of pro work) for a week.
5.- Fall in love again. With something, or someone. Let this take
you to places you might never have gone. Let yourself be
seduced, Platonically, of course. [Explaining this to
the spousal unit will make the "block" seem insignificant !]
4.- Follow your fears. Photograph something, someone, someplace
you've been afraid or uncomfortable to shoot.
3.- Go shooting with someone else. Compare takes.
2.- Run naked in the rain. See Greggie for tips. If it doesn't rain,
look up a good bail bondsman in the yellow pages, leave a note,
turn on the sprinklers... and make a run for it !
1.- Pretend an asteroid is going to hit the planet and end all
life on earth, including yours. You have been selected as
one of a cadre of photographers whose work will be put on board
a space capsule and sent into deep space as part of our last
will and testament. You have four rolls, a weekend to do this,
and no excuses.
--- Luis
