February 22, 2009
What in retrospect could you share with me about your journey.
A friend recently wrote me and said that I had come a long way, and asked “What in retrospect could you share with me about your journey?”
My answer was:
1. I stopped thinking like a photographer and started thinking like an artist.
2. I quit looking at other photographer’s work; it lead to imitation and limited my imagination.
3. I stopped listening to other’s advice on my work; it was sincere advice but it came from the perspective of their vision, not mine.
4. I strove and am striving, to find my own Vision.
I am certain there will be those who disagree with these points, but remember I do not offer them as advice, but only share what worked for me.
Cole
I have an artist/photographer friend here in town who is always telling me the same things:~)
Yes, I’ve had this attitude all my life and find I am “ahead of the curve” many times, which is not such a good thing sometimes. However, I do like to look and see what others are doing. Sometimes it helps to remind me of some project I’ve been meaning to do or finish, or to experiment. I never want to copy other’s work so I don’t worry about the subconscious outcomes. I know that everything’s been done before already so it’s my interpretation anyway.
I find many people disagree with “stop looking at other photographer’s work” the most, and the one about listening to other people’s advice. I guess it’s somewhat about where you are at on the creative journey. But as a fierce Libertarian, I love that we can disagree in a free country!
Cole
Poor Ron Paul’s district was really hard hit by Ike!
Your advice comment rings 100% true to me! Everyone has their own filter. I find I must have many curators look before I would exclude a specific image or body of work. Everyone would pick out different images on different days anyway!