A Single Stone: a Celebration of the Creative Process
Not every image is exactly what I envision when I hit the shutter button. This is a necessary and inevitable part of being a photographer and an artist. Not every drawing goes as planned, no novel is perfect upon the first draft. Being that I shoot a substantial amount of instant film, my so-called rejects are an object I can hold in my hands. While they may not be the pictures I want to share on social media or submit for publication, I find an allure to them. When I paint, I try to practice looseness in my strokes to let go and become more open to the process. I have been doing a similar thing with my Polaroid 600 camera. I don’t use it often in my portrait work as I prefer the Polaroid Spectra for that purpose. With the 600 I have stopped censoring myself, waiting for the perfect set up, and carefully taking the image. With these, I simply shoot and see. Are they my best work? I wouldn’t say so, but it is the photographic equivalent of doodling. Seeing what my eye is drawn to is an activity to prevent closed off creativity that leads to art block and stagnation. It is important to remind yourself to not focus on the end product when creating but to see the process as the art. If you create anything, you’ll know the feeling of wanting to have this masterpiece to show off and be proud of. But what we forget is the joy of that journey to get there. These are not my piece de resistance, but I do see them as what will get me there and what makes me swell with the intensity and fervor that keeps me going. I encourage you to go on today in your pursuits by not expecting to finish your pyramid but to add a single stone.