Work and school have been taking up much of my time so posts here have been few and far between. While I had a few minutes, I wanted to share a great video I came across recently. I've been wanting to get into shooting video and projects like this are a good example of why moving pictures interest me. This might not be for everyone, but I find it to be one of the most creative videos I've seen in some time. Enjoy.
I've been thinking and reading a lot recently about minimalism. The idea of minimalism has always appealed to me, but I previously found it difficult to silence the consumer's voice in my head. Now I realize the principles of minimalism go far beyond reducing consumption, but this was always the one thing that silenced the minimalist in me.
As you may imagine, my hiatus from the working world was just what I needed to break my old habits. I slowly found myself becoming more and more aware of every single dollar I spent and every single thing I acquired. The longer I went without a regular paycheck, the more I was drawn to the idea of living with less. Granted I never went without a roof over my head or three square meals a day, but I did have to completely revamp my lifestyle.
Over the past two years, I slowly started to embrace the idea of minimizing. I donated or sold most of the things I wasn't using, I stopped replacing what I donated or sold with more things, and I eventually found myself with only the things I truly needed. Looking around, I know there is more work to be done, but not being surrounded by things I don't need is a great feeling. I have always hated clutter and there is really no better way to clear the clutter than to get rid of what isn't needed.
In a way, I think photography was the thing that made my transition possible. The less I was able to consume, the more I found myself wanting to create. Instead of going to the mall, I went out to make pictures. Instead of buying more gear, I found ways to make pictures with what I had. This way of thinking slowly influenced my actions in other parts of my life. Instead of buying, I found creative ways to use what was already available. In the end, this may all be for not. But thus far, my return to the working world hasn't brought back my need for retail therapy. Only time will tell, but I hope all I learned in the last two years will stick with me for a lifetime.
I got the original iPhone in June of 2007. At that time, I used the iPhone camera for occasional snapshots and Apple's App Store was still an idea in Steve Job's head. Fast forward three years and the camera in my iPhone is the most used camera I own. I find that I use the iPhone as a camera so much because it is always with me and because the applications I have allow me to quickly edit and share the images I capture. With photo editing applications like Photogene, Photo fx, and Camerabag and blogging applications for Tumblr and Squarespace, the iPhone is often all I need to explore my creativity and to share that creativity with everyone online.
Since June has unofficially become iPhone month for many Mac and iPhone enthusiasts, I've decided to start another daily photo project and create 30 iPhone images in 30 days. I mainly decided to start this project to keep myself motivated creatively and as a reminder that the images I make are more dependent on me than the camera in my hand. This will also be my way of getting more images for a photo book I eventually want to publish for myself consisting only of my iPhotography.
So starting today with the photo shown here, I'll be taking, editing, and uploading 30 iPhone pics to my Random Creativity site using only my iPhone. Those of you that follow me on Twitter have probably seen the photos I've uploaded there from my iPhone. I hope you and everyone else that stumbles across this post will head over to my tumblog occasionally to see how my latest project is going.
We're all busy and most days are only a blur. Over the last couple years, I've struggled with staying creative and continuing to make pictures. Since starting my new job a month ago, I've found even less time than usual to go out and make pictures.
To help solve the problem of time, I've decided to give myself at least 60 seconds of creativity everyday. There are 1,440 minutes in a day and I thought it would be pretty easy to give at least one of those minutes to the act of being creative. Since I'm a picture maker, I usually spend that minute looking for pictures with my iPhone in hand. Sometimes I'll find something and sometimes I won't. The important thing is that I've given myself the opportunity to be creative.
You may be a fellow picture maker or you may be a writer or a musician. For some of you, a single minute may not seem like enough time to create anything worthwhile. More important than what you create in that minute is the act of doing something creative. Once you get into this routine, you'll find that it's much easier to set aside a small chunk of time everyday to do what you love. One minute may turn into five, which eventually turns into an entire hour. Over time, you'll learn to prioritize your creative time. And in the end, being creative isn't just about what you make and how much time you spend doing it, it's also about getting those creative juices flowing and doing what you truly love.
To see some of the results of my 60 seconds of creativity, head over to my random creativity site. In addition, check out Jon Yager and Lori Jackson's daily photo projects. These are two of my favorite sites to visit when I start thinking this iPhone just doesn't cut it for making great images.
Many of you know I've been going through some pretty big changes in my life. Aside from immersing myself in the world of photography, I've been searching for a new career more in line with my interests. Over the last two years, I've done a lot of soul searching and feel I'm much better off for it. It hasn't been an easy two years, but I know they've been two of the most important years of my life.
Well, I'll be starting a new chapter of my life next Monday. I recently found a position as a technical writer at a local software company. I feel truly fortunate to find this great opportunity, especially now. After two years of wandering aimlessly, it's great to be back on track and heading in a new direction. I'm excited and somewhat nervous to start this new chapter, but am convinced I'm exactly where I need to be.
While this really has nothing to with photography, it does mark a significant change in my life which directly affects me as a creator and the author of this blog. I decided this was a good time to change the look of this website. I went with a more simplistic layout and color scheme. I'm not really sure if I like it yet, but it does seem to be a good match for where I am right now as a picture maker and writer.
Even though I know the new job along with my current course work will leave me with little time for photography, I'm hoping that having other things to focus on will get me out of this creative rut I've been in for some time. I plan to keep posting images here as often as I can and I also plan to expand the content of the blog. The main focus of this website will continue to be photography, but these off topic posts may become more of a regular occurrence. Since I'm not quite sure where this post is going, I'll wrap it up here. Before I go, I do want to thank those of you that have accompanied me on my journey. I'm really grateful to have such great friends (both in person and online) and I hope you all stay tuned to see where this new chapter takes me.
Thursday, July 8, 2010 at 9:33 PM