Photography - Experiment Outside Your BOX

Sometimes we get stuck inside a box (a routine), mainly because we are comfortable with what is. In order to grow, we need to once in a while step outside our comfort zone...outside our box. 

Photographers tend to focus (pun intended) on one or two types of photography. When we teach a workshop, we like to encourage people to learn something different. Instead of taking a wildlife class again, try a macro class.

In our, Art of Focus workshop with Sally Halvorsen, two of the students were nature photographers. After the workshop, one of the them commented about how different and challenging the workshop was. In nature photography (mostly birds) she was always told to make her images as sharp as possible, in Sally's class she was given creative freedom (and encouraged) to blur her images. It was like a left-brain, right-brain challenge for her. Yet, when the class was over she saw the advantage of what she learned and how she could apply it to what she really loves—bird photography.

What happens when you step out of your comfort zone?

• Inspiration
• A release of your creative soul
• A fresh look and new ideas
• It builds upon our techniques
• You're excited about the craft again
• It's just plain fun

When we step outside the box, our first steps may be awkward and unsure. But, as we explore, exciting things start to open...We Grow! Then, when we step back inside our cushy box and go back to what makes us comfortable, it is to find our creative juices overflowing. When we apply that growth to what we already know the future becomes full of possibilities. As a result, that change, that growth, makes us that much better of a photographer. 

Explore! Experiment! And, as Tony Locke says, "Repeat." Try something new. Learn something new. Create something new.

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