I submit that I am not. Ok, I guess I have been, but I am fixing that. With my new job (which I love by the way), it has been difficult to maintain the amount of shooting I used to get to do. Not only do I have a new job, I have a new house, a new puppy, and I am getting married in 7 days. That is pretty time consuming. So yesterday I decided to do something about my lack of shooting. Next to me, on my desk, is my 1d mk2n with a 20-35 2.8L on it. It is a simple set up. Even though it serves no purpose at my job, I keep it there and shoot in the office. The pictures are nothing of note, but what is important is that I am being creative. I also shoot a lot of pictures with my iPhone, but I have found that having my “real” camera staring me in the face makes me want to use it more.
I got the idea, initially, from one of the programmers that I work with. He likes to sketch, and he was challenged at a conference for artists to carry around a very small pad and fill it up in two weeks. Does it have anything to do with what he does at work? No. But it is fresh. It mixes things up and helps him to sharpen more skills than just what he uses from 8am-6pm every day.
I find that it even has improved my job performance. I like to be inspired. Photography not only takes, but creates inspiration for me. I am motivated when I shoot. I have even carried the big lunky camera into the grocery store with me lately (I don’t think walmart liked that). Just keeping myself constantly attatched to that big hunk of an image maker keeps me looking at things as though they were pictures.
So I am passing on the challenge. Fill up a 1 gig card in two weeks with nothing but shots from your everyday life. Do exactly what you usually do, but lug your camera around with you. You aren’t a photographer? Ok, then find what it is that fulfills your creative need, and feed it during normal life. Don’t just set aside time to do it. Do it while you are doing the things that HAVE to get done.
-matt