Thoughts on Creativity
I’ve just returned from a short but intense trip around Morocco. I’ve been back for over a week, but with my massive backlog of work, I haven’t had the chance to post anything recently. I will have more on Morocco in the near future.
The above two images, from rural areas in Morocco, got me thinking about creativity.
The first image is a stock standard tourist picture of the camel shadows in the desert. Anyone with a camera in the desert shoots a picture with camel shadows. What separates it for the normal is the Berber nomad on the top of the dune. There was no plan for this shot, the nomad happened to be walking on the dune when the camel’s shadows pointed towards him. I simply noticed the effect and took the shot. Interestingly, the feedback I’ve had on this image suggest that it is a creative image.
The second image is from the Todra Gorge. The gorge is spectacular, with both sides of the gorge being over 300 metres high. It is also a very difficult place to take a decent picture. As you can imagine, very little light gets into the gorge and when it does, it is not the right kind of light. There is also a road running through the gorge which spoils the natural wonder of the area for a photograph.
When I was planning on shooting the image, I noticed the scarfs blowing in the wind and thought they could make a colourful, interesting foreground. I deliberately stopped the camera down to F16 which gave me a shutter speed of 1 second. The slow shutter speed allowed the effect of the wind blown scarfs to be recorded in the image. I excluded the sky as it would have been completely burned out, giving an abstract, incomplete picture of the gorge.
So here are two images, one planned, carefully composed shot and one grab shot. Which is the more creative image? Does careful planning mean that you are more creative? Does spontaneity lead to creativity? Does creative problem solving make you a creative artist?
I have never said to myself before a shoot, “Now I am going to be creative”. Almost always, my mission is to try create interesting, captivating images, whether it means simply capturing the scene before me or carefully building a scene. I think that sometimes, trying to be creative can stifle your creativity. I find that I am most creative when I am curious about the world around me and in awe of what I see. Creativity comes naturally from that state of mind.
