by Leigh
I know we talk quite often about being stuck in a rut. For me, I always seem to be burned out and running on empty when it comes to creativity at the end of the summer. I miss the good old days of opening my email to find a photo prompt from Tracey Clark and her Picture classes in my inbox. I remember the feeling of excitement after reading it. My camera would be my companion for the week as I went about my business…always keeping the prompt in the back of my mind just waiting to find that perfect shot. It was that weekly focus that kept my creative juices flowing. And just as fulfilling as finding my perfect shot...was seeing the gallery full of photos from everyone else. It was a warm and environment and that is where my true love of photography began to grow.
It's been difficult for me to find something similar to those classes that spur the same sort of excitement, so I decided to start giving myself assignments. My friend Angie Dornier did a personal project called Jar of Inspiration where each week she drew a different theme out of a jar. I always thought that was such a genius idea and it's always been in the back of my mind thinking that someday that might be just the thing when I need a creative push. But now for the hard part….coming up with assignments. For my first one I decided on patterns. And boy did I hit the jackpot when I visited the Oklahoma City Myriad Botanical Gardens. Floating on top of the ponds were beautiful water plants like this clover. Outside in the gardens were Zinnia buds like the one above just waiting to burst open but first they must show off their intricate pattern.
Not only were these ponds perfect for the assignment, but they also happened to be my favorite color! For the first time in a few months I'm finding myself excited about getting out there with my camera. My Nikon and I are going to get reacquainted with this project. (truth be told…only the first photo was taken with my Nikon. The others are iPhone.)
Are you feeling a little ho-hum these days? I would love to hear your ideas for other themes. Maybe some of you would like to go on assignment with me!