Dull In The Sunshine
So, first day of my holiday today. Instead of sleeping in I leapt out of bed at 7am, sprinted through the shower, laughed in the face of breakfast and bolted out of the door camera in hand. Yesterday morning dawned eerie and misty and stayed that way until well into the morning, and driving to work I thought about how incredible the local patch of forest would look as the sun started burning through. Optimism about a repeat performance today prompted this morning's early rise, but disappointingly it was clear, bright and sunny. I know, I know! I live with the English weather year round…I should be grateful for every bit of sun I can get, right? Don't get me wrong, bright sunny days definitely float this girl's boat, but I have recently (this morning in fact) discovered that when it comes to photography, actually they don't.
Obviously, this has prompted a day peppered with bouts of introspection and completely unqualified psychology-based conjecture. Yay! To begin with, why don't I like bright sunny conditions for photography? My initial reaction when I walked outside this morning can be summed up in one word, but I'm gonna break it into two, for emphasis. BOR. ING. Yes, boring…I realised that I very rarely see something in a landscape well-lit by crisp blue sky that stirs my creative eye. Again, don't misunderstand; I love being out on a sunny day and soaking up the surroundings, but in general none of it will grab photographer me (that's the me with the camera in case you didn't guess) by the collar and scream 'Oh my god look at that! Quick, take a photo. QUICK' I should probably have let it drop there with 'boring', but no; further armchair psychology followed.
The main topics of pondering have been technical skill vs. inspiration, how the two interact and what is their combined impact on creativity. For example, this morning I didn't use my camera until I'd been out walking for about 20 minutes, and even then I had to make myself look for photo-worthy things to shoot. Odd, given that a) I love taking photos b) I've usually started taking them before I've even managed to get both feet out of the car and c) I find everything about a natural landscape pleasing to look at, hence the love of being out in it. Is this lack of inspiration under today's weather conditions related to my lack of technical experience? That is, if I had the necessary skills to tease out photo-worthy things, would I be more likely to see them? After all, it's much simpler to shoot a dramatic landscape on a misty morning or when the storm clouds are rolling in. Or does it just come down to preference?
In terms of personal tastes, I find dramatic skies and light that creates stark contrasts to be more stirring on emotional and aesthetic levels. Logically I figure that these sorts of scenes probably just inspire me more because of how they make me feel. But I have a suspicion that eventually the 'boring' may actually become inspirational. I'll try to clarify my made-up psychobabble with further made-up psychobabble; I see a person's creative output as a mixture of inspiration, interpretation and the skills to express these (this is not a comprehensive recipe for creativity, I'm being basic here). So, as I gain experience my technical skills should improve. As my technical skills improve I should find new ways to express my interpretation of the things that inspire me. As I find new means of expression, this should pave the way for seeing potential in previously uninspiring material. The boring is suddenly very interesting. Does that make sense? I'll let you know if it pans out!
Anyway, I took some pictures today but they were mostly disappointing (note to self: work on technical skills). But I also spent a marvellous few hours walking in the New Forest under sunny skies to a soundtrack of spring birdsong. The swallows have arrived, the skylarks are parachuting, the lapwings are tumbling in the sky and making those crazy electronic nosies they make. I saw an exuberant dog who was the spit of my old dog Moose, which made me happy. The Forest is yawning and stretching and waking up after its winter sleep, and spring greenery is peeping through. It felt really good to be out in it, photos or not.
And besides, it's not as if I have a lack of images earmarked for editing. We all have a queue of them don't we? Those ones that you're pleased with or that have 'potential', the shots you like that you'll get around to after you've finished with the ones that had you really excited. Those ones that give you something to do on a rainy day? They give me something to do on a sunny day.
See you next time.