Chris Kresser
New member
I just read the Ben Lifson essay "Everything is Subject and Kicking Off Your Shoes". It resonated with me deeply, and I found myself nodding my head in agreement all the way through. Early in the essay he says:
This is becoming more and more true for me. I have little time these days for "dedicated photography", and likely will not for the next 2-3 years due to work and other commitments. The result so far has been that I've stopped making photographs. And that's not good.
Ben's essay inspired me to come up with some project ideas that are more closely integrated with my daily life. Rather than choosing subject matter that requires me to travel to a location away from home, which I can't seem to find time for now (even if it's in the same town!), perhaps I should focus more on what is right there in front of me every day.
So time has been one challenge for me. The other is choice. I am one of those people, it seems, that doesn't do well with a lot of choices. I've purposely restricted myself to one DSLR and three prime lenses because of this. But even then, this still feels like too much. I've heard some photography teachers suggest an experiment of choosing only one lens and working with it for a period of time, whether a month or a year. This appeals to me very much, and I have an intuitive sense that it would be a powerful exercise.
For this reason I'm thinking of picking up a Ricoh GRD or Sigma DP1. That way I can have a compact, high-quality, fixed-lens camera with me wherever I go. I normally shoot with a 5D, and I find that is too large and heavy to carry around on a regular basis. The GRD and DP1 would also force me to work with a fixed focal length, which I think will improve my photography.
I'd love to hear any thoughts, suggestions, or ideas this post may raise for you. How have you continued to find time for art (if you have) through busy periods of life? What is your experience of the relationship between creativity and constraint (or choice)?
"Our busy, time-consuming and important careers and our important family commitments often make us photograph only intermittently, when we can find time and as subject matter either comes our way or, as is often the case, we travel to it, sometimes quite far. But this is not the best road to good pictures and our growth as picture makers."
This is becoming more and more true for me. I have little time these days for "dedicated photography", and likely will not for the next 2-3 years due to work and other commitments. The result so far has been that I've stopped making photographs. And that's not good.
Ben's essay inspired me to come up with some project ideas that are more closely integrated with my daily life. Rather than choosing subject matter that requires me to travel to a location away from home, which I can't seem to find time for now (even if it's in the same town!), perhaps I should focus more on what is right there in front of me every day.
So time has been one challenge for me. The other is choice. I am one of those people, it seems, that doesn't do well with a lot of choices. I've purposely restricted myself to one DSLR and three prime lenses because of this. But even then, this still feels like too much. I've heard some photography teachers suggest an experiment of choosing only one lens and working with it for a period of time, whether a month or a year. This appeals to me very much, and I have an intuitive sense that it would be a powerful exercise.
For this reason I'm thinking of picking up a Ricoh GRD or Sigma DP1. That way I can have a compact, high-quality, fixed-lens camera with me wherever I go. I normally shoot with a 5D, and I find that is too large and heavy to carry around on a regular basis. The GRD and DP1 would also force me to work with a fixed focal length, which I think will improve my photography.
I'd love to hear any thoughts, suggestions, or ideas this post may raise for you. How have you continued to find time for art (if you have) through busy periods of life? What is your experience of the relationship between creativity and constraint (or choice)?