Creativity

So I was doing a little thinking last night. It was around 3 am and I couldn't sleep. These thoughts about creativity kept running through my mind. They went a little something like this.

Too often I feel, many of us are TRYING to be creative. We are dying to come up with something new, something that no one else has seen before, whether it's in art or object. So, we sit there and think... "What can I come up with? What's missing in the world that I can provide? What amazing piece of art can I create? C'mon there's got to be something...." Eventually frustration sets in and the only thing we've created is a more upset and depressed version of ourselves because we haven't met our own expectations of what we can do. OR the pressures we feel from an outside source, that may be pushing us to create. Either way, the method is wrong. Rarely does a great idea come about from sitting around thinking about what new thing you can do. It comes about through inspiration and freedom. I saw this quote recently that is perfect for this topic.

"Sometimes you've got to let everything go - purge yourself. If you are unhappy with anything . . . whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you'll find that when you're free, your true creativity, your true self comes out."

So, let go of all that is making you WANT to create. Forget all of the pressure you may feel from yourself or outside sources. Create for yourself and do it because you enjoy it.

One last thought. Being creative doesn't necessarily mean you have to come up with something completely new. Take 3M for example. You know the company that doesn't make things, they just make them better? They've built a huge empire through improving objects. Be 3M! Whether you come up with something completely new or an improvement to an existing object or idea, you're still creating.

Be free and create!

~Nate

Star Trails

Liam (our 15 month old son) woke up last night around... well, right at 2:18. I think he had a bit of a stomach ache, so I just had to hold him for a while and comfort him as his tummy pain went away. Finally he fell asleep and now it was my turn to go back to sleep. On my way back upstairs, I noticed it was REALLY bright outside. I stepped out to see if we got a new street light installed or something, but it was just from an incredibly bright and full moon. The temperature was perfect and suddenly I didn't feel like sleeping! There were a million stars in the sky and a huge bright moon! How could I sleep? I had to try and capture this! So I went in and grabbed my camera and the wide angle. My goal was to get a star trail shot (which I had never done or even researched). I didn't want to set up the tripod and the remote and do it all proper like, so... I just set the ISO at 200, shut the aperture all the way down (I think it was 22), and then set the shutter to bulb. Next laid belly down on the driveway and laid my camera on it's back with the neck strap bunched up behind the eyepiece to protect the screen. I got comfortable and was in it for the long haul. 20 minutes of manually holding the shutter down to try and create the star trails. Bear in mind this was my first attempt and under the circumstances I think it turned out pretty well! There's some things I'll do different next time, like shoot on a night when the moon isn't illuminating the entire sky. But other than that, I'm pretty happy with it!

~Nate

Chase Jarvis TECH: POV Photography

In the beginning.

This blog has been created to track my journey through some design classes at the University of Kansas. Hopefully I'll be able to post some useful information here and things I pick up along the way.

My current photographic idol is Chase Jarvis. You can view his blog here.

Here's one example of his work.