Good Sources of Inspiration

[andrew_west5]

<p>Just as a great writer is well-read, a great photographer immerses themselves in photography. What would you recommend to help get the creative juices flowing freely? Online galleries, photoblogs, portfolios, books, or whatever else does the job. </p>

 

[William Kahn]

<p>For me, It's just packing my gear and getting on the road, looking for The Shot Of The Century. I'll let you know if I find it... ;-)</p>

[andrew_west5]

<p>When it comes down to it, I think we all are. Our definitions of "The Shot of the Century" just vary a little. </p>

[dale_weiss]

<p>Andrew - I get on my bicycle with a camera or two and go for a ride. A bike will get you into areas that a motor vehicle cannot. You would be surprised at what you see when you are on a bicycle. plus it is good exercise.</p>

[charles_stobbs3]

A walk through an art museum always does it for me. Usually I can't wait to get back outside with a camera again. Whether there is a quality improvement or not is another matter.

[lachaine]

<p>Sometimes you just run out of ideas, motivation or inspiration. Of course, just going out with the camera and taking pictures regardless is useful, but as you say, writers read, and there's something to be said about browsing through online galleries of whatever kinds of pictures interest you. It never fails to (1) give me ideas for my own pictures, and (2) motivate me to go out and get them.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>John Kenneth Galbraith, economist and well-known writer, addressed issues of inspiration and the like for writers in a famous essay that I think can be extended to photography as well:<br /> http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1978/03/writing-typing-and-economics/5165/</p>

<p>He suggests that waiting for inspiration is a kind of trap and usually work done under "inspiration" is not significantly better than that resulting from just keeping at it.</p>

<p>I like two kind of "workbooks" that can help reset the mind, sometimes:<br /> Jim Krause's <em>photo idea index</em>, and Tom Ang's <em>Digital Photography Masterclass</em>.</p>

<p>Like painters, we can also try to emulate a master, not to copy merely, but to learn.</p>

[Brad_]

Challenge yourself by shooting somewhere in difficult circumstances. For me it's in sketchier parts of the

city. You learn a ton in the process and meet interesting people in the process.

 

Why do easy stuff?

[steve_levine]

<p>Nature.</p>

[wood]

<p>photo.net</p>

[exposed1]

<p>For me it was reading either "Ansel Adams Letters and Images" or his "An Autobiography". Not so much for the photos but for his way of thinking and telling a story. The way he could move a persons creative ideas with words.</p>

[steve_t.1]

<p>Muse.</p>

[steve_t.1]

<p>C'mon, nobody else thought of that one?</p>

<p>.................</p>

<p>A friend and I recently had a similar conversation, and in the end we agreed that I (yes, me) need to stop thinking and start feeling. If what you see in the viewfinder doesn't make you <em>feel</em> something (anything, good or bad), don't press the shutter button.</p>

[leicaglow]

<p>I like to stroll alleyways between houses, photographing interesting architecture, fences, plants, garages, etc. I get a ton of interesting shots.</p>

[jtk]

<p>I think a great photographer immerses himself in life, more than in photography...</p>

 

[jon_mullen1]

<p>Go and be somewhere else You've never been before...It works for me everytime.</p>

[akgraham]

<p>Go shooting with another photographer whose work you like - especially if it differs markedly from yours.</p>

[stp]

<p>I agree with Robert Woodward: photo.net (and I'd add fredmiranda.com). A good book to get you thinking about your approach to photography is "The Zen of Creativity" by John Daido Loori, a photographer; the essence of that book is touched on by the comments of John Kelly and Steve T. above.</p>

[jtk]

<p>While from a little exposure I do appreciate the relevance of zen to photography (browse Daido Loori per Stephen, or Minor White), Weston's passionate life has been the longest-lasting inspiration to me (take time with Daybook II in particular). </p>

<p>And I have to say that my own photographic muse is evidently my own thinking about how photography works for me, rather than how I "feel" about an image...maybe. I recently saw a photograph in a magazine that had nothing to do with the subjects I've happened to photograph, but exhibited something about light that I intend to depict with a portrait...I'll have to do a setup as it can't occur in nature.</p>

[tonmestrom]

<p>I probably have a prosaic mind because I never think about inspiration. I just go out and shoot and have a lot of fun while doing it.</p>

[john_elder1]

<p>No Joke, read "The Agony and the Ecstasy" a biography of Michelangelo. Also both Daybooks of Ed Weston.</p>

[laceyhughes]

<p>My inspiration comes from my son and anywhere I can take him. Whether it be the neighborhood park, or the "backyard" state parks. No more than an hour in any direction from us and we can be in a bigger city, the mountains, the ocean, etc. We can watch whales year round, hike in the mountains, play on glaciers in the summer. There is so much around us that even when we visit the same places, it's like being there for the first time again. My goal is to capture pieces from our adventures. Maybe to serve as reminders of who we are, and where he have been. Something my son can keep long after I am gone, and pass them on if he so chooses. And in the meantime I photograph the little things in the world around us. That leaf that normally would just get stepped over, the little ant crawling over that wild flower, the spider that attacked your head above the doorway, the snowflakes on Thanksgiving day... I do it all for him. He is my world. </p>

[jenkins]

<p><strong>I probably have a prosaic mind because I never think about inspiration. I just go out and shoot and have a lot of fun while doing it.</strong></p>

<p>Me too Ton, it's my curiosity that get's me out.</p>

[andrew_west5]

<p>I feel like the odd man out here. I like looking through the work of talented photographers. I have a collection of hardcover photo books and love checking out galleries when I can, both online and off. The "just go out and shoot" philosophy never appealed to me. I want a solid foundation in the craft.<br>

You have to take more than just technical courses when going to school for a degree in photography or any other creative field. There's good reason for that.</p>

[dan_south]

<p>I gain inspiration from:</p>

 

<ol>

<li>Being in tune with the world around me regardless of where I am.</li>

<li>Great light and the weather conditions that are likely to present it.</li>

<li>Unique events and situations that would not be easy to replicate.</li>

<li>Fine-looking women.</li>

<li>Good photography and cinematography.</li>

<li>Anything that "catches my eye."</li>

</ol>

<p> </p>