Creativity
By ice rivers
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Creativity is what you do when you've run out of things to do.
I was waiting to see an update on a challenge in GuruShots. In GuruShots photographers from around the world compete with one another on a wide variety of photographic contests. In the contest that I was waitng for, I was still 4 votes short of All-Star rating for that contest. I had already used my last Boost and my last Fill so all I could do was wait. I'm proud to say that I'm rated as a Master in the Guru Universe.
Here are the rules for the contest that I was waiting to end.
A black background is a way to isolate your subject, take it out of context, give it focus, and emphasize its shape. Keep your subject well illuminated by natural light or artificial light.
I noticed that there was new challenge opening up while I waited for the voting to end on the previous contest.
Meanwhile, I've been trying to write all day but the writing seemed like work and my daughter, who is a designer, advised me that if it feels like work....you should wait a little before you begin again.
So I switched over to my other obsession which is photography. Photography didn't seem like work so I plunged right in and found myself over at GuruShots.
Ya got me so far?
The fresh challenge on GuruShots was in a contest called "let's see the photographer"
Share your best photos of photographers working.
Usually, photographers are the ones behind the lens. This time the focus is on them!!
I got an idea. I'll go into the bathroom and snap a picture of myself snapping a picture.
I grabbed my camera. Turned on the flash. Pointed the camera at the mirror and snapped. I hoped the flash reflecting off the mirror would have an explosive effect.
It did but the explosion ignited on my face. I didn't know yet what I wanted but I knew I didn't want that.
I adjusted the ISO so that I could shoot into the mirror at a nice speed and thus could eliminate the ugly flash.
I turned the camera to vertical. The flash shot was horizontal. This vertical snap came out closer to what I thought I might want and looking at it, I got the feeling that I could write about the photogrphy process that I was now involved in and it wouldn't seem like work.
The second picture was an improvement but I wasn't wearing a shirt and it kinda looked like I was standing there naked which I wasn't. Also my hair was bad news.
Hmmmmm
I rarely use props when I take pictures but I realized thatt I could use a prop or two for the one that I would take next which was already beginning to become a story in my mind.
I stepped into the closet and put on a Panama hat that I had never worn. I put the hat on my head but I was gonna need something else or I would still appear like a naked guy wearing a hat. Hmmmm...this was starting to become like work which I didn't want, even though the literal translation of the contest is to take a picture of a photographer working.
We have a bathroom in my home office. If I had to go to our bedroom to put on a shirt that would be tooo much like work. I went back in the office closet and pulled out a scarf that my wife likes. I had no idea it was there but I was happy when I found this scarf that wasn't what I was looking for until it was which was as soon as I found it.
I wrapped the scarf around my neck. I went in an took the picture.
Damn....it was a keeper.
I didn't like the background so I cleaned that up some by painting with 100% opaque whitish while using a medium sized brush.
I adjusted the size of the image so it would fit into this story.
As I looked at the picture, I got a look at what people are looking at when I take their picture. I see the beginning of a smile on my face because I'm creating but I'm not really working although this burst of creativity will result in a product that will have a life of its own just like the output of a job.
I noticed my eye tightly closed. Hmmmm....why do I close one eye when I'm focusing with the other eye?
So yeah
I've got a story and I've got another image added to another contest in GuruShots.
Hope you like them both.
Then having completed the story and thus burning up the time that I needed to make a few more votes, I put in last votes with 3 minutes left in the black backround contest. When you vote, you raise your exposure level a little so a few more photographers were able to take one last gllimpse of my black background images, As time ran out, I got the votes that I needed.
Creativity is a beautiful thing
I'm outta here.
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Comments
The picture is great.
The picture is great.
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Yeah, creativity sure is a
Yeah, creativity sure is a beautiful thing. I think you got that photo shot done perfectly.
Jenny.
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