Creating from Discomfort

Peeking out of my comfort zone

Last week I talked about everyday shooting in quiet spaces. It’s nice to take it easy and see what I can create from places I’m already familiar with. But there are diminishing returns if I don’t try something new.

Sometimes I have to force myself out of my comfort zone, just a little bit, in order to spark new inspiration and make images I’m drawn to. If I have an idea for a shoot that I keep putting off or questioning, that’s usually a sign that it’s good idea. I think this applies to other creative mediums as well. Creativity is particularly potent when I’m a bit off balance and forced to improvise and problem solve in the moment. I still anchor to what I know, compositions I’m familiar with or tools that I like, but I apply them to a situation that’s unfamiliar and the result is often more compelling for it.

I caught this guy mid-bite.

I took these images in downtown Denver, on a day where I simply took the train to union station and went for a walk. This is not a particularly risky leap outside of my safe space. I’ve been downtown plenty, I shoot on walks, and I’m using familiar tools. But dedicating a chunk of my day toward shooting somewhere I hadn’t in a while yielded work that excites me. I loved capturing movement in the city, from people to bikes to buses. This is something usually lacking in photos I get in the suburbs. Downtown has more movement to capture, and being immersed in it helps to find new ways it can be used in a composition.

Even the quieter scenes I was drawn to feel more alive. The light bounces off glass windows and creates harsh shadows. There’s so much contrast and texture to explore. People provide a sense of scale to architectural shots, and a focal point for more mundane scenes. I’m particularly drawn to cyclists as they navigate through the city. Bike lanes in Denver often end abruptly and force riders to take to the road, cutting through the environment where they only half-belong.

For me there is a power in photography, in that it’s a medium that naturally encourages me to surround myself with inspiration and create directly from it. I have a tendency to turtle, to search for worth and inspiration within myself. But photography requires the outside world. There’s no pretense that it’s a solitary craft, that I can improve by locking myself in my room and thinking. Of course, I don’t really think that’s a good way to improve at any craft. Whether writing, painting, or filmmaking, getting out and sharing my work with other people and learning from other artists is absolutely essential to growing and honing my skills. But it’s all too natural for me to retreat to my foxhole under the guise of a solitary artist who doesn’t need the outside world corrupting his vision. Photography breaks me out of that cycle. How freeing it is to create by simply going out in the world and feeling. I follow the feeling like a dog follows a scent. I track it to its source, and capture it.

I love the angle of this shot, makes it feel slightly off balance.