'Make the Ordinary Extraordinary' - An Essay from Chris Orwig

I found this essay from photographer and teacher Chris Orwig on creative photography to be very thought provoking and inspiring. Check it out and see what you think.

Good essay. For what it's worth, I'd have to say that I agree with his idea that finding inspiration from within is going to make us better photographers.

Thanks for finding that, John.

Fantastic article John. Thanks for posting the link. Pete

Very good read. Thanks for pointing it out, John.

I liked the reminder that, "Who we are, shapes what we see."

“…at some point photography becomes autobiographical. In order to create better photos, sometimes we need to put down the photography books and magazines. Then we need to go out and to develop who we are.”

Thanks for posting about this.. This train of thought has been my driving force and outlook since I decided Photography was what I want to do, and do well... I've learned quite a lot in the last 7 or 8 years since I took this path, but with the mindset described in Chris's article,
I've experienced and learned far more than I ever thought possible.
" Cheers" to all who travel this path.
My photography is maybe not the best (yet)... That's only a goal. The experiences I have because of it are World Class!!

Dave

Dave Flaig
Green Bay, Wisconsin
www.flaigphoto.com

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not." - Ralph Waldo Emerson.

So all those Canon EOS ads were right? "Attitude is everything"?

The bricklayer metaphor is interesting. But if I can extend it, both the bricklayer and the artisan have to know the fundamentals of bricklaying. Attitude is no substitute for knowledge, skill, learning and patience. It helps, heaven knows, but by itself attitude is never enough. Sorry if this sounds negative. I don't mean it to be.

Thanks for sharing, John. That was an excellent read, and good food for thought. Without trying to sound like I'm tooting my own horn, I feel like i'm a decent photographer. Not great, but technically pretty solid. However, deep down I know that the creative person I am is not truly coming through in my photos. I know it. I feel it. I try and tell myself all the time to forget about whats "right", or "normal", and make something that is art. But sometimes it's so easy to just go with the masses, and do what pretty much every other photog is doing. It's comfortable to stay in our safe little boxes. Hopefully this essay will spark some creativity for all of us. Thanks for bring this to our attention. Good stuff.

John, Thanks for the link.

Bill,

That same quote really got me.

I also appreciate this: “All children are artists. The problem is to remain one when you grow up.” Anyone can criticize from the sidelines. It takes an artist to engage, experiment and play. ~ Picasso

Good article, even if it doesnt say anything new. Im not sure the "get out and do something you love" is very insightful advice, though. Most of us got into nature photography cause we love being out in nature, so how is getting out for a good hike or climb gonna do anything different for my nature photography The "nature vs nurture" argument brought up in the comments would make a good 'Hot Topic'

Thanks for the post John, I thought that was a very nice article. It's really good to remind oneself of those principles every now and then.

But perhaps, Stan, in order to improve your nature photography, in order to improve your eye and your creative 'vision', trying something other than nature photography is in order. Stretch your boundaries and your skills. Learn something new. I've learned things in my non-outdoor photography that I've taken back and applied. Too much inside the box thinking gets us nowhere. So I think it depends on how you read the piece and how you interpret it as to how insightful it is and what you take from it. And I'm not using the specific 'you' here, but rather the global 'you' so don't take personal offence.

No offense taken, Robert. And i understand the point, ive dabbled in some wildlife phtoography and it gave me some new insights, id love to try some macros. I was just saying that "doing something you love" isnt necessarily going to help your photog skills. Im skeptical that a "good surfing session" will give you a better landscape. I spend hours playing the guitar, and id love to find a way to apply my music to my phtoography, but so far the inspiration hasnt hit me!

Thanks for the link. I enjoyed reading it and I think it is inspirational. Such an article tries to help us to approach photography differently.
Stan, I think you should not expect to get the "recipe for good photography" out of such an article. I agree it's, maybe a bit of a cynic comment, because many photographers out try to give advices like that, but on the inside they know that such statements do not help. However that guy offered a lot of examples and inspirational ideas I think.

By the way Adam "I think only the first part “All children are artists. The problem is to remain one when you grow up.” is by Picasso.

Dietrich

Interesting and thought provoking. Thanks for sharing this link John!