There was a discussion started on another forum about creativity, and I thought I would start one here, because it was more about creativity to begin a rendering. What motivates a photographer? What do you look for, search for, are inspired by? Do you actively seek a subject, or just walk around with a camera and let it happen? What happens when you are uninspired, and how do you seek to stir up creativity? Several subjects came up, such as Music, probably one of my chief inspirations, Mozart to Moby, you can ask Colm, I have about the weirdest music collection, and I do listen alot. But I dont listen to music to inspire photography. I think being a newbie at this, I can't offer much info, but I can tell you that lighting and facial expressions inspire me. Ask my daughter, I just about assaulted her the other night, she was standing under a light, with her head turned, and I got all inspired, and just kept telling her, turn this way, that way, look up, tilt your head, finally she said MOM STOP! But I did get a photo out of it that I posted. Light is an inspiration.. I went out seeking weird things two weekends ago, and I got it...Colm fell on his back on the ice, and I thought he was joking....He had the new camera on him, and when I realized he wasn't clowning around, I saw the camera laying by his side, and immediately thought "OH NO NOT THE CAMERA"! Seriously though, his back still hurts. Anyway, what I was searching for was total weirdness. I got the ghost truck image, the blair witch image, and the industrial smoke image...and I'll post one for you with this, some carrots and mud.....LOL Please comment with your thoughts please. Syyd

In the part where you said you assaulted your daughter while she was standing under the light...That sounds oh so familuar...My father used to do that with us on a constant basis. My father also has that "eye" for the perfect and yet sometimes indifferent picture. I am new to the photography field. yesterday I was so excited, I have started looking for digital cameras, and asking questions to my dad. I look at him for inspiration and his expert advice since he has been doing this a long time. I think when I get the chance I am going to stick my camera in my purse and carry it everywhere I go. There have been so many times that I have seen soemthing and said, "wow now that would be a great photograph" And not had my camera. I don't think that will ever happen again...I will have my camera with me at all times... great picture of carrots in the mud...shows that there is art in anything and everything. Now I am off to put new batteries in my poor old camera and shove it in my purse and hope the weather gets nicer so me and my little one can go running around taking pictures.. Leigh So excited she can't stand it....Thanks to everyone here. You have lite a fire in my heart that is keeping me warm and tingley inside...You don't know how much this means to me..

Well you lit a fire here with me Leigh...Enthusiasm can be a balm sometimes for people's souls... Im glad you are here, so very glad, I have watched your other work with amazement, and I just know you are gonna do same thing in here. I think thats it....the camera have to go everywhere with us.... I remember writing something a year ago, just my usual ramblings as is evidenced under a lot of my artwork lol. take the lens out of focus on the minds eye..... a play on words and weird perhaps, but if you really think about it, it is the minds eye, that breathes the life into the camera. Yes, we can have technical expertise on our side, and as rightly we should, but it is the minds influence, that is speaking through that little machine you hold in your hand. Your vision can be terrifying or soft and beautiful, it can be mundane, it can be anything...but it is your eye... Oh well, time to stop babbling philosophically here. You all can tell me to zip it, cause i do ramble. Syyd

When I started seriously taking photo's about fifteen years ago, I couldn't stop thinking about it. My vision became like the viewfinder and I saw pictures everywhere. I soon realised that photography is a very inexpensive hobby, especially black and white. In those days I used to roll my own film buy buying it in bulk. It was Russian film and it worked out at about 50 cents per 36 exposures. I used to develop my own film and print my own photo's so I took thousands of black and whites. Many never even got to the contact sheet as I soon discovered how to look at negative images and see in my mind what they would look like in positive. I now use a digital camera and apart from the miniscule amount of electricity it uses recharging batteries it costs pretty much nothing after the camera outlay. As far as inspiration. I don't think about what I want to photograph anymore. I like to go out with the camera and just find stuff. One thing I will say is. When you first get into photography a lot of people realise they have just begun for the first time to actually 'see' the world around them. A visit to a city for example can make you realise the detail that has gone into architectural design. You notice how the light changes the look of things throughout the day. I would say... Keep your camera with you at all times. You will find you will use it often. Colm... PS... Cool image Syyd... And my back still hurts...:(

Syyd, found something we have in common...I tend to ramble...Don't ever want to get emails from me cuz they go on and on and on...But sometimes I feel that when I ramble it stirs up stuff inside of me and ends up helping me in one way or another. Strange? Maybe, but heck whatever works right? Thanks for the kind words and the wisdom. The camera is in my purse...Problem...Kid is asleep...dang...LOL...well will have to wait til she wakes up and then off to photograph world...Thinking of going and getting some photography books to learn...Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks Leigh May the light lead you, May the creativity flow and May you find all you can find In the eye of the soul.

P.S. Colm...Sorry you hurt your back!! Hope you heal soon...Back pains can be worse than a darn tooth ache...

Leigh, this is too funny! The whole time his back was real bad, my teeth ached...I guess the gods saw my concern for that camera instead of him LOL. Well, what is indigenous to your area that we may not have here up north? That might be interesting to see....Ocean is different, culture different, plants, trees, and you have snakes and crocodiles in your backyards, right? That might be a start if you live through it LOL. Syyd Ps I am digging for that childhood photograph

ACK....snakes and crocs!!! You want me to go out and take pictures of these!!!! LOL...I would, but...I am in northern Florida, so we don't have much of that here, but I will have my camera with me so if I run into one I will take a picture...Now this summer we are supposed to go down south and visit my parents. They are taking us on a swamp boat ride to go alligator hunting....Oh boy...I will just take pictures....and try not to get eaten...LOL... Now we do have the most beautiful beaches, white sand, emerald green water...I will try to take some pictures of that for you to see. Its kinda cloudy today so might not be the greatest time to see the emerald green waters, but heck i will go out and see what I can find...

Oh emerald green waters sand and sunshine, even overcast I will gladly trade you for pictures of dull grey, and lifeless LOL.

I have a lot I want to say about the discussion here - but I'm so tired and a little bit shy as well. Syyd - gimme that hand girlfriend. ;) I just want to say that I think this is a wonderful venue for those who are experienced with photography as well as those of us wanting to learn, like myself. Over the past few years, I've spent a small fortune amassing as many stock photography CDs as I could get my hands on. My husband hates it - he doesn't understand how I can just sit and look at pictures for hours. I love black and white photography especially - and like Syyd, I love faces, and for some reason, hands too. I also enjoy wildlife photography - I'm an animal-nut. I've been considering for a while now and finally decided to look into getting a digital camera so I can begin taking my own photos. So, as of right now, I don't really have anything visual to share with you all, but I would like to share my comments and thoughts. Hopefully soon I can join you all further in this. :) Syyd, great photo!! Love the P.N. carrots! ;) Ok, I'm so stupid right now - just too tired! Sorry for the rambling - I'm off to bed!!! Smiles & Hugs to all, Brandi

Brandi, I too also find hands to be an amazing thing. I got used to staring at both quite regularly by taking the city busses. I could sit for hours and just watch people animate their hands and faces. Im glad you are here, and dont be shy at all. I feel myself somewhat overwhelmed by all of this but I asked for it, and got it, so with the typical Syyd aplomb, Im going to dive right in, and immerse. There are a few threads here Bran, with links to cameras and purchasing cameras, and information about cameras, that might be of great interest to you. PosaNation carrots LOL.....just saw them lying there in the mud, in the sunshine and could not resist monkeying LOL. Just keep hopping in here, till you get a camera, or even post images of your girl, if you'd like. Learning is the key, we are all learning. Syyd

Hey ho, it's me again... Inspiration? Basically...I look for the unusual in the usual. I can sit for ages and stare at things most people I know find completely normal, boring and even uninteresting. I see photos everywhere, but most of the time I don't have a camera with me...as I can't do my own printing in B/W anymore it costs too much for me to do this regularly, when I occasionally have money to spare I spend it on photography. I don't know what inspires me - I don't even know if I know what inspiration actually is. Sometimes, I just see things that I HAVE to get photos of. Like today...I had a brilliant photo opportunity but..alas, no camera. A woman was sitting on a bench with a head beside her... You know, one of those plastic ones with fake hair kids play with...it looked so incredibly creepy, the woman was dressed in all black except a bright red stripe on her top, her hair was jet black and she was wearing sunglasses..and this head sitting on the bench right next to her. I had to walk around the block again and hope she was gone when I came back because it just annoyed me so much that I had no camera. It still gets to me!!! Arrghh! Heh... I can relate to what was written about rambling, yes...don't expect me to make sense, because if you don't, at least sometimes there's a slight chance you'll be pleasantly surprised... Aaaaaaaanyway time for a little marshmallow to go to bed. ~M~

Syyd and MarshM said it, "Weird things and unusual in the usual." These are my inspiration. To see and show normal things in different point of view, to inspire, to make peoples feel and maybe sometimes even think. Photographing is quite expensive here in Finland, one roll with printing costs about counts with his fingers 12$. And I'm not that rich, that I could just shoot. BUT now, when I got my new toy, Sony Cyber-Shot P1, I'm gonna turn the autofire on... -N ps. Did the camera hurt him/herself?

The camera was fine....I felt like an idiot after I figured out he wasn't joking...I seriously thought...he was clowning around with me..and when I saw that camera laying there...I just about you know what! I remember you telling me about the prices of film, and I expect some bizarre and wonderful experiences to come from your new one. I think the idea is, that the mundane itself, is not so very mundane, if you choose to see it as something different. It is after all the mundane, if you will, that occupies a large part of our daily lives...who would think a wire whisk and christmas ornament could give us a brand new vision? But, alas, it is true. Now Im off to find some light and bizarre. Problem is I am suffering from bad camera shake. Syyd