What do you do to spur creativity????

mfratt

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I find that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Take a break from photography for however long you need and come back to it with fresh eyes and a fresh enthusiasm.

I also find this song helps me when I feel down on creativity (the quote in my signature is from it, I think its a great song for anyone with a creative inclination)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVXMTNKIEak
 

Jim Jones

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Camera clubs are often maligned, and sometimes with good reason. However, I find mine to be stimulating. Its contests with assigned subjects force me into broadening my vision. Similar contests in online forums should do the same. Friendly competition encourages us to do our best.
 

removed account4

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barry,

this thread might help too ...
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
 
OP
OP

stradibarrius

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Some great ideas!!! Thanks for your input. John thanks for the link to the other thread too...
I love to photograph people but am reluctant to ask people on the street, maybe I should force myself to ask more people in a restful way, if I can take their photograph.
 

Allen Friday

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Carry a small notebook in your back pocket. Write down things that interest you, ideas, thoughts. Observe the people around you. Write a story using the customers in a coffee shop as the characters. Sketch ideas for a studio shoot. Make a list of your favorite works of art and ask "Why are these my favorites?" Shoot a roll of film with no film in the camera. Go someplace new near where you live. When going home, take a different route. Try a new technique or process. Try shooting from a new vantage point--find a tall building or climb a ladder, shoot from the bottom of the steps. Carry a viewing card with you and observe the world through it. Walk around your neighborhood, stopping every 25 steps to take a photo.
 

M Stat

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Stay in photography, just try an alternative process, like platinum or kallitype, cyanotype etc., etc.. When we get stale, I believe it is because we are not learning anything NEW. Learning brings about growth, and that is what excites the heart and mind the most.
 

dphill

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Change your point of view.
If you have access to a waist-level viewfinder camera (your gallery implies you do), expose a roll at no higher than 24 inches above ground level.
A dog's eye view of the world so to speak.

Have fun,
Dan
 

Mainecoonmaniac

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Don't watch TV.
 

TheFlyingCamera

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Abstinence from distractions - switch off the TV, avoid the booze, cut out the sex - give yourself some frustration in need of an outlet. Avoid things that numb the mind - do read books and watch movies, go to see museums and anything else that will stimulate thinking above the reptilian brain stem.
 

Jeff Kubach

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I sometimes do the same things, just stop photography for a short period.

Jeff
 

Black Dog

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2F/2F

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If sex isn't stimulating the visual imagination, you're just plain doing it all wrong.
 

M.A.Longmore

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.
Every few weeks I watch / listen to the recording of " Excuses Begone "
by Dr. Wayne Dyer. For some much needed Motivation, in all aspects of life.

He quotes Aristotle :
Practice Contemplating, What You Intend To Manifest ...

I recorded this on a PBS Station last year, the book, and CD's
are also available.


Ron
.
 
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hpulley

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I have projects, sometimes people suggest them to me.

Other times I just go for a walk or a drive and see if something strikes me. On some days I pick wrong on the film so I'm learning to go out with B&W, color, slow, fast and at least one body that either doesn't have film in it yet or can switch out the film in case the one roll I have loaded is inappropriate though most times I can go back and redo it except for rare wildlife opportunities and even then sometimes it is nice to record them in B&W even though color would sometimes be more suitable.

Yet other times I have driven past something before and I realize that it would make a good picture. Sometimes I've driven by it a hundred times. Sometimes I return and the building is already torn down, which is sad...
 

Batiendo

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hello there

feeling the same pain for over 6 months>>> here
 

TheFlyingCamera

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This is one thing a cameraphone is good for - visual note-taking. I've been doing a little photo-a-day self-assignment to photograph something, anything, that I see on my way to, from work and during my lunch break. Makes me keep my eyes open, and even if the picture is crap, well, the process of taking it made me think photographically, and since it's a phone-cam picture, it's pretty much disposable anyway. I've been posting them on my Facebook page if you want to see what the exercise is all about.
 

removed account4

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will someone without a facebook account be able to view it ?
i no longer have an account with FB but would love to see
the work you are talking about
 

Domenico Foschi

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It is all about practice and commitment. If you go through those moments of lack of creativity, the best medicixne is to go out and shoot, even if you don't want to.
Waste some rolls or sheets. Shake the rust. Being stuck is actually is a good place to be, because it means that you are ready for a change and the only person that can help you out is yourself. So, don't just do nothing. Go out and shoot, listen to your frustration, but more importantly listen to what you would do rather than being stuck in the old direction.
All is good if you can read between the lines.
 

dnjl

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Simply looking at some good photographs inspires me enormously. I remember skimming through Elliot Erwitt's Personal Best collection, I practically ran out of the library to get my camera.
Also, visit new places. There's this point where you have taken pictures of everything within two miles, so you really need to get beyond it.
 

Black Dog

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Hmmm...must put that on my christmas wish list!
 

brian steinberger

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When I'm feeling uninspired I tend to do things I usually don't, like pushing film 2 or more stops, shoot alot with my holga, or go out limiting myself to just one camera and one lens. Also when printing you can try different things to too to get excited about photography too, like printing with graded papers, trying lith printing, trying different toners, etc. Photography is such a broad hobby with many different angles at which to approach. For me personally I find it easier to feel overwhelmed by all the different approaches rather than feeling un-inspired.
 
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