Feeling Stuck

For those of you who are interested in the art of photography, I'm sure you've had periods where you feel a little stuck creatively. I always seem to get that feeling around this time of year, seemly without fail. The bright lively colours of early fall are fading fast, being replaced by the dull barrenness of wet November here in Vancouver. The only consolation at this time of year is that sunlight gives a golden hour feel almost all day long, often even between 12-1PM. Of course, we tend to only get four to six days of sunlight in November, so getting that look can be a challenge.

I've been thinking of a few ways that I can overcome that stuck feeling that I have, and one idea has been to rent some lenses to expend my creative abilities. The second idea is to once again look for new shooting locations. To fulfill the first idea, I'm currently pondering renting the Nikon 200-400mm VR. The primary reason for renting rather than buying is financing. Based upon my current income level it would be extremely difficult fit such a purchase into my budget. Secondly, I think I'd only find the lens useful one or two months of the year, which would make such a purchase equally less desirable than the effect of emptying my bank account. Finding something that can give you a new perspective can often help you change the way you shoot, so I'm hoping that will inspire me to some degree.

Looking for new places to shoot could be an interesting venture, all be it an on going one. I have a few ideas for more trips over the next year, but those will depend on what time I can get off from work. Finding or making time to search for what we want or need to do is often one of the greatest challenges in life, and making time for photography is just part of that. I would love to have the freedom to explore my photography unhindered, but like most of us who have not yet made the transition from a day job to a photography centric job that is somewhat difficult. That is another subject all together though.

I think one of the biggest things that can help photographers get out of a rut is to try something new, to push the boundaries of what we think we should be doing. I know that one of the hardest things to do is to focus on light, rather than subjects, as noted in the last photography tip I gave. That is one tip that I need to focus on in order to move forwards without a doubt.