Kick-starting Creativity
We've all had those moments where, creatively, we hit a wall. We're thinking about this one slide and no matter how hard we try, we either have difficulty thinking of a design that works or everything we come up with just isn't good enough.
Well, one of my passions is photography and the only way I can get better is by actually getting out there and getting practice. The problem is, I hit that wall where I couldn't think of where to go or what to shoot. I've hit Harper's Ferry and the C&O Canal so many times, I couldn't think of anything original to focus on. Cities, be they Washington, DC, or any of the much smaller versions in the area aren't of any interest to me (I'm a rural kind of person). I was in a rut, but I really, really wanted to get out there shooting. I just needed to get my creative juices flowing again.
Apple On the Snow
Thanks to a trip up into the wintry north to see family, I learned that what I needed was a change of scenery. Getting away from the everyday forced me into a fresh and new view of the world around me. Compositions started forming in my mind again. One morning while up there, right as the sun was coming up, I went out in the sub-zero air to take some photos. I didn't have to go very far, either. Heck, I didn't even have to leave my aunt & uncle's property to get some material.
Later that day, as I was going through my photos, my aunt commented how she always felt she had a beautiful home, but never quite saw it the way I had captured it. At that point, I knew the change of scenery not only helped, but was exactly what I needed.
Granted, a 12-hour trip by car and train isn't always practical or necessary. On the contrary, we can probably achieve the same results by taking a walk to some place we've never been or haven't been to in quite a while. If it's an area you normally see from within a car, travel it by foot. Force yourself into unfamiliar territory, or at least an out of the ordinary situation. Force your mind's eye to view, digest, and perhaps interpret the world around you in a fresh and new way.
