Comments on: Things to try when you are stuck and lonesome…

By: jordana

jordana — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 16:35:01 +0000

love you suggestions for getting out of being “stuck” and god bless the happy accidents that result from polaroids and darkrooms. “good pictures,” after a time, ARE boring. that’s why I haven’t picked up my digital in weeks and have been working with my often disappointing, but sometimes magically surprising (and financially ruining!) polaroid camera. see ya. jz

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 05:23:56 +0000

Hi Robert, I really enjoyed these two posts together. I am starting to take first steps towards making photography a larger part of my life. I sometimes get caught up in ideas, but then I find that it’s the shots I haven’t “thought” about that end up pleasing me the most. I have considered some of the suggestions that you’ve laid out here on my own but it’s great to see this laid out so coherently!

By: Kevin

Kevin — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 22:43:56 +0000

Funny comments about CA, though it’s not the only mag to constantly recycle essentially the same stuff. When CA’s photo annual comes out. I think I’ll just keep one CA photo annual, and just re-read it once a year. That’ll save me $20 a year (or whatever it costs).

By: Ryan

Ryan — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:40:42 +0000

I built a six foot tall snowman holding a beer last weekend with my wife’s younger sister and it was one of the best creative releases I’ve had in quite some time. Snowpeople drinking beer . . . what a fun time.

Thanks for another great post Robert.

By: me

me — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 16:03:48 +0000

sorry, Communication Arts…

By: Michael Morris

Michael Morris — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:42:39 +0000

Pardon my ignorance but what is Creative Arts?

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 13:47:59 +0000

Excellent post, right on the money with so many things. Stuck is a terrible place to be, a place where I spent much of my time years ago. I suffered, and I suspect many others do also, from the paralyzing effect of the internal critic.

You know, the one that is constantly in your head telling you what a stupid photo it is that you are taking, and why are you doing this anyway, you’re a loser, your photos suck, people will notice and get mad, go home, and on and on until you slink away with your camera in your bag.

We all have to find a way to strangle that little voice in our heads that stops us before we even start. (no, I’m not off my meds, heh heh) It’s so important to have a clear and quiet mind when shooting. It allows us to be where we are without distractions, see the moments amid the chaos, respond to it all on an emotional level and make sense of it all in that defining moment when we press the shutter release. Athletes refer to being in the zone, or what I call it as being in the moment. Either way, it’s freeing to be able to just go out and respond to the environment without restrictions.

Thank you Robert for your efforts to put your thoughts into words and for sharing your insights and intellect with the rest of us.

By: Gregg White

Gregg White — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 18:32:55 +0000

I think you have let many of our secrets out with this. It is what we call happy accidents. Great post.