inspiration
I believe that trying to be original for the sake of it is counterproductive, and ultimately impossible. Instead of worrying about what others have or haven’t done, we should focus on being true to ourselves and photographing subjects that resonate with us. If that’s an iconic location, so be it. If it’s something no one else has photographed before, that’s great. Perhaps it's a combination of both.
If you've ever felt an urge to grab your camera and start taking photos after seeing a great image from another photographer, this one is for you.
I keep a folder -aptly named "Inspiration"- in the Notes app on my phone with a collection of images that, for whatever reason, inspire me. Most are from photographers I admire, some are random online finds.
Sometimes, when I'm not feeling it, I open that folder and start scrolling through those images. More often than not, this simple act puts me in the right mood and I start seeing.
Perhaps, this is something you want to try yourself.
Inspiration can spread like wildfire.
"Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings” - Stephen King
As photographers, we need to know if our images make us feel the way we feel because of their composition, light, subject, atmosphere... or if it's our memories of making them that are responsible instead. Because if it's the latter, if it's the context only us have as the makers, as the ones who were there, then no one else is going to feel the same way towards those images.
My photography book collection is rather small: just a handful of volumes I really adore.
Books are an important source of inspiration, and I'd definitely have more if I had a permanent home. But I can't help to think that keeping it small has helped my photography in many unexpected ways.
I lack formal education in the arts, even less in photography. I didn't have a mentor either. I learned many things from work I was seeing online, and from the books I do own, but most of what I know, I gained from experience alone. From the daily practice of photography.
Of course my work and myself as a person are heavily influenced by others. We are humans after all, we don't live in a vacuum. But the lack of formal knowledge and understanding of photography made me freer than I would be otherwise.
Free from comparisons, free from following the rules, and free from not following the rules. I was doing photography for the sake of photography.
This is still true today. For example, I try not to look at other photographer's images of a place I'm going to visit soon. I like to see it myself first, to take it all in with an empty mind, free from preconceived ideas, and make the images I see. Then, I might take a look, often to realize just how different or how similar we saw that location. It's fun.
There's a lot value in studying someone else's work, but sometimes, it's more fun to go somewhere with an open mind and try to create something different. Something that comes from within.
Nature was the reason why I got started in photography. The beautiful landscapes of Oregon awakened my senses, and I felt like I had to create something with what I was seeing, hearing and smelling. For a long time, that was what drove my photography.
Even though I was documenting my everyday life with photographs as well, I never thought of those moments as situations where I could create art. They were just snapshots.
I was wrong. Very, very wrong. Any moment, any situation, no matter where you are, no matter what you are doing, is a good moment to create art. I shot the image above while I was writing this post, from the window in my bedroom.
Not just that, but anything could be worth of your attention. Why limit yourself to a tiny subset of the world, when there are so many interesting things to photograph everywhere?
Sometimes, all it takes is to try it. Before judging a place or an object worthy or unworthy of a photo, just put your camera up to your eye and try it. Walk back a little and show the whole scene, or get close and look for the details. Try to find the beauty in everything.
Going from landscape photographer to everything photographer was one of the most profound changes I made to my photography. It opened a whole new world of imagery for me, but also showed me that I could do photography at anytime, anywhere. I didn't have to wait to go anywhere, I could do right at home.
All photography is practice. The more we practice, the better we get. And because we don't control most of what happens outside, the more we get out, the more chances we have to make great images.
The most important step is also the hardest: don't stop.
Photography is a long-term game - it takes a long time (perhaps a lifetime!) to have a portfolio full of good images.
But it's a game we must play as often as we can. Showing up every day will give us a much better chance to create what we want.
Photography has taught how to listen to silence. I discovered that silence is not absence, it's balance. Nothing makes sense without silence. That's what I seek in my photography.
After traveling across the country for the last 3 months, and seeing some of the most beautiful landscapes the US has to offer, one could think my photography would suffer by being back in Indiana.
Actually, it's quite the opposite! I'm very excited to be back, as I believe that the images we make in "ordinary" places can be more rewarding and, in many cases, better than the ones made in exotic spots. At least, they are very unique.
As opposed to a national park, photography here is hard. Images aren't obvious, you have to hunt them, and that can take a lot of effort and time. That's what makes them so rewarding, when we finally find them.
In this video, I try to prove this point by showing you some of the images I've made over the years near "home", wherever that was at the time. I'm lucky to have called home very different and beautiful places, all of them with their distinctives landscapes and beauty.
I hope this inspires you to get out wherever you might be at the moment, wherever you might live, and capture that that makes the place unique. What looks ordinary and boring for you can be new and exciting for someone else.
Why do we go through such hardship for a few images? Why do we wake up so early? Why do we face the elements? Why are we willing to be cold, hot, wet, burnt, exhausted... all for an image? Why do we keep trying, over and over?
Why?
It's because we need it, as much as we need to breathe.
It's because it makes us feel in peace.
It's because we can see.
It's because we want to feel alive.
The world reveals itself when you pay attention. Our duty is to witness the beauty and show it to others, to become their eyes.
We are half crazy, or full crazy.
We pour our souls and hearts, we are obsessed, dedicated, passionate.
We want to show what needs to be seen, what needs to be known.
A day spent making images makes us feel. Calm, excited, exhausted and happy. Part of something much bigger than ourselves.
We wander, we are free.
When the time comes to pack and head back home, we are not the same. We are changed, every shot, every photo, every place, every subject is now part of us, they make us who we are. But the fire never goes away, AND we are excited because we know we get to do it again tomorrow.
Video was filmed at Dog Mountain, Washington.
"Beautiful images, but where is the Bronica?"
If someone paid me $1 every time I get asked about the Bronica, I'd be making a very comfortable living off of photography.
We like to say we don't care about gear but at the end of the day, it's what we pay the most attention to. After all, buying a new camera and learning how to use it is a clear goal, something actionable anyone can do. We feel like we make progress.
Figuring out what to do with that camera is harder, though. Even though the purpose behind our photography is all that matters in the end.
I struggle with this like everyone else, and sharing my journey as I try to get closer to the what and the why, and not the how, is my purpose.
What's yours?
"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?", asked Alice.
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to", said the cat.
"I don't much care where---", said Alice.
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go", said the cat.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
I've been in Portland for almost 3 weeks now, but my time here is coming to an end. I was looking forward to being back in this beautiful city where I lived 6 years of my life. There were so many places I wanted to visit and photograph. I did go to some of them, but every day has been a struggle.
Back at the beginning of this trip, when I was in Colorado and Utah, I had fewer options. Not because of a lack of places, but because I did not know about them. The day the snowstorm hit Fort Collins, I just got in the car and drove. Somewhere. Anywhere. Everything was new to me, I had zero expectations. I made some images and it felt good.
Here in Portland, I know where the roads go. I have expectations. Choosing one option is very hard. I feel overwhelmed by the many options and the very little time!
Last night, I spent a good couple of hours thinking about what to do today, where to go, what to photograph. I couldn't make a decision, and the result is that I didn't go anywhere. And here I am, regreting it and writing this post instead of being outside taking photos.
I spent so much time thinking about which road to take, that I forgot that I don't really care where I go as long as I'm going somewhere. I just want to make images. Literally a walk around the neighborhood would've been better. Instead, I got stuck at the intersection, contemplating my options.
Wake up and get out, I wrote 3 years ago. That's still the most important lesson I've learned about photography. The key to make great images is to put yourself out there. It doesn't matter where. As long as you are somewhere.
One of the recurring themes in the messages I get from other photographers is about their struggle to find time for photography on a daily basis.
Today, we are so busy all the time! It's the busyness era. If you aren't doing something, you are falling behind. It's all about the hustle, right?
This is an issue I'm deeply interested in. Recently, I read the book related to this topic, Make Time, and in this video I share some of the key points from the book, along with some of my own, all applied to photography.
We'll see why we are so busy, why we need to make time for photography, the highlight of the day, and several tips to make time for photography.
Inspiration comes from action, so start taking photos. Allow yourself to make bad photographs, do it for the sake of it, with no purpose in mind. Art is more about play and less about thinking.
"The unseen is what fuels the imagination" - Om Malik
Have you ever wondered why readers who like a book usually dislike the movie version of the same story? In most cases, this is because no matter how good the author is and how many words they use to describe the characters and the places, a book is a non visual medium and in the end it relies on the reader's imagination to fill the gaps. Every reader will live the story in a unique way, making it more engaging and personal. On the other hand, the movie gives up almost everything with its visuals, every person watching it will see the same, there's not so much room for imagination.
Even though photography -like films- is a visual medium, there are some ways we can spark the imagination of the viewer. This will make them stop while scrolling down on their Instagram feed, or stare at the image a bit longer in an exhibition. When we get that kind of attention, that means the image works.
Black and white, removing details from the shadows and highlights, using the weather to your advantage, shooting at night... are just some of the techniques we can use to make our images a bit more obscure. In the video above, I show you an example.
Try to create intentional gaps in your images, so the viewer has to use their imagination to fill them in. By making some things go unseen, you'll be adding more to the image.
Related: Hint, don't show, 5 ideas to make images in the fog.
“Inspiration is for amateurs, the rest of us just show up and get to work” - Chuck Close
I've said it many times, but it's worth repeating it every once in a while: we don't take photos because we are inspired, we become inspired because we take photos.
It's by acting and doing that we get motivated and inspired to create meaningful art. Some times, that means we have to push ourselves a little bit to get out and work. While it might sound hard at first, it's always worth it.
Self-play is a concept that I find fascinating: artificial intelligence can learn how to play games -like chess- by playing against themselves over and over. Starting from scratch, with no knowledge of what works and what doesn't, machines eventually come up with strategies and plays that surprise even grandmasters, who reward them as "creative". This made me think about photography: how we look for inspiration in other photographers' work, and the value of experimentation.
Read MoreI've alway loved technology. I've been playing with computers since I can remember, but it wasn't until the arrival of the Internet that things got serious.
I made my first website back in 1998, when I was 16. Design and technology wise, it was pretty bad. But there was something special about it: I was reaching people from all over the world.
I used to print out the analytics with the visits, I loved to see the entries showing visitors from places as far as Australia or Japan.
Today, we take this for granted, but life would be very, very different without the internet.
I am a full-time photographer thanks to technology and the internet. Had I been born in the 50s, I'd still have my day job. Photography wasn't as affordable back then either, so even if I were lucky enough to have picked up a camera, I wouldn't be shooting as much as I do today.
Today's technology gives us incredibly powerful tools to create and express ourselves, and many options to share that art. I believe this is the golden age of photography: there's a lot of noise but people are creating amazing images nowadays, much better than they used to be, and they are more accessible than ever.
We tend to romanticize the past and we forget that photographers like Ansel Adams lived on the edge of technology, using the latest cameras and film stocks, trying to perfect the medium, always experimenting with new techniques. He didn't idealize photographers or technologies from the XIX century, he strived to improve them.
As a photographer and artist, I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to live in this day and age: my 16-year-old past self would not believe what I'm able to do today from the palm of my hand from anywhere in the world.
The fact that you are reading this, from wherever you are, is proof that technology is pure magic. Embrace it and use it to your advantage.
Space
During these past few weeks, I spent quite some time staring at the mountains in the distance. They fascinate me. At night, I'd look up and see the shadows of those giants, just a few miles away. I'd imagine how cold it was up there, how windy, how deathly.
Not only we live in the only planet capable of hosting us, but it is within a very thin section of Earth that we live in: barely 3 miles from sea level to the highest settlement.
Time
If you were to spin a roulette of time, with numbers from the beginning of the Universe until its end, what are the chances that the ball would fall on your lifetime? Beyond impossible.
Existence
What about our own existence? If our parents had sex a mere seconds earlier or later, we wouldn't be here. The odds of our parents to exist and meet were even lower. It keeps getting less and less likely the higher you go.
We live in an impossible part of the Universe, at an impossible time, and we are the product of an impossible chain of events.
Today is impossible and yet, it's happening.
PS: I'm working on a project about these issues and I think a lot about it.
I try to add as much mystery as I can in my images. I want them to be on the edge between reality and dreams, if you will: the viewer decides what they are looking at.
I often wonder if by sharing so much of my process (YouTube, Instagram stories...) I might be destroying part of that mystery.
Should I retreat into the shadows and share only the final image? Or should I keep sharing my journey as a way to inspire others?
I believe there's a balance to be found here as well: hint, don't show; inspire, don't keep it to yourself. You'll find me out there, looking for such harmony.
Woman getting up and waving to the Sun
Gym advertisement poster
Spirit emerging
Woman against a tsunami
Nuclear apocalypse
Ghost with big eyes trapped in the light
First steps after death
Hopeless look into the abyss
Swimming towards a wave
Fly trapped in insecticide
Dancer's dream
About to commit suicide
Caterpillar becoming butterfly
Double street light
Cobra threatening to attack
Origin of life
Apocalypse
Evolution
My mom has been fascinated by this image of mine since I posted it on Instagram a couple of days ago. Apparently, she's been looking for some meaning behind it. Those above are just some of the titles she's suggested.
I had no meaning in mind when I created it.
That's the beauty of photography and art, we can create for the sake of creating and the viewer can give it a meaning, if they wish to do so.
Daido Moriyama explains why he doesn't like SLR cameras in his documentary "Near Equal" (10:02):
"If you use a SLR, you see things like this (through the viewfinder)
[...]
and when you do this, you want to have perfect focus"
I've been shooting compact cameras for a few weeks now and I have to agree with Daido.
Viewfinders put you inside your image. Using the LCD screen keeps you in the present, aware of your environment. You don't see the fine details, only the big picture of what you are trying to create. You don't worry as much about the exposure or the focus.
All of this makes for a more spontaneous photography, and creates imagery that comes from the gut.
I've been trying to apply street photography principles to landscape and fine art, as opposed to the more meditative and slower process that is usually involved in the making of this kind of images. Instead of adjusting my composition and settings to perfection, I take in my surroundings: the sounds, the smells, the textures, the colors. And then I shoot what feels right.
I don't think either approach is better or worse than the other, and images might not be that different after all. I do enjoy the process more this way, though, and in that sense it's been liberating.
I'd encourage you to give this a try: ditch the viewfinder and embrace the LCD screen for a distraction-free photography.
