Capture Your Inspiration- A Photo Project to Spark Creativity
In last week’s bIog, I discussed one of my new favorite books, “Steal Like an Artist,” by Austin Kleon. One of the things he suggested within the book was to start a Swipe File.A Swipe File is a file of things that you collect that could later on give you some inspiration. Therefore it could be filled with anything you want, like a poem you discovered, a song that sparks your fancy, or even my favorite a photograph. It’s been said that a photograph can say a thousand words; it can even capture your soul if you believe in the superstition. The one thing that I know is that a photograph can definitely provide inspiration.
One of my favorite things to collect is old cameras. When I was younger my father had a bag full of old Nikons, Canon’s, Kodak’s, and the good ole Polaroid cameras and lenses. I loved holding the weight of the cameras in my small hands. I love the smells the cameras gave off. Surprisingly as young as I was, I always associated the sent with smell of time, history.
. I never did ask how my father came into procession of those cameras. I was lucky enough to use one of them as my first real camera (not including the old versions of point and shoots, you know what I mean, the paper kind). In college my second major was studio arts with the emphasis on photography. I recalled the terror of developing my own negatives in the dark or seeking my first print come to life for the first time red lit dark room. I love the sound of camera clicking. That sound always motivated me to take another photo and another. Just pressing that button gave me a creative jolt. For I knew in that moment I was making art.
These days with modern technology, you can take awesome pictures with your phone (thanks to apps like Instagram, and other various photo editing apps). Though I will always love the process of original film printing, digital photography has provided a great outlet for seeing your creations right away. Making it much easier and faster to collect inspiring photographs. Here is my impromptu idea for the week: For a week, take photographs of people, places, or things that have your power color on it and do it using only your phone. Then create your own online version of a Swipe File. What words will your photographs speak to you?
“There is only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself, for what we see is what we are.”
-Ernst Haas