In The Frame 5-28-2023: Ideas to Help You Focus, A Creative Book for Everyone
Whether with a camera phone or a big DSLR, these short assignments can bring you some well-earned peace.
Happy Sunday!
It has been unexpectedly mild in the desert this month. We have only reached 100 degrees a couple of days, and the mornings are beautifully cool. I am expecting a far cooler summer (if you can imagine 105 being ‘cooler’) this year, even cooler than last year.
I got up at 5 AM this morning to put a coat of wax on my wife’s car, and now I am sitting on my porch with a cup of Sumatran coffee, my laptop, and Keith Jarret on my mini-speakers.
I’m so glad you’re here.
Focus and Productivity Hacks
You know, life can feel like a busy rush hour or a long lonely highway at times
Bumper-to-bumper traffic, noise, stress, the ‘news cabal’, lost in eastern Wyoming with gas getting low and no cell service because you missed a tiny little sign that was probably camouflaged anyway and there’s no traffic or anyone around - anywhere.
I mentioned Wyoming, right!
Chaos seems to reign supreme occasionally.
Whether we are in the midst of the city or on a lonely stretch of deserted asphalt.
Amid all the craziness, noise, and sparse gas stations, it’s sometimes hard to focus, to get into that ‘flow’ we so love when we are making things.
Distractions breed chaos, and then chaos has a way of breeding - you guessed it - more distractions.
And there are two things creative people have trouble dealing with: chaos and distraction.
We loathe chaos. Everything we do seems to be focused on creating order out of chaos. Whether we use pen and paper, watercolor, or the frame of a camera’s view.
And distractions, let me tell you. Distractions come in so many unexpected and overwhelming ways.
Like yesterday when I was cleaning out one of the drawers in the office. I got the set of drawers at Amazon. Amazon has a lot of things besides books. I read a book once. I sat in the big chair in the living room. I love chairs. This one is brown. Like chocolate, which reminds me of the time I was in San Francisco and this girl… I think she had a friend named…
You know… distractions.
So what do I (we) do?
In the spirit of sharing, here's a list I've put together. It's a treasure trove of little-known ways to calm the chaos and help you focus on what is important and what is useful to your growth as an artist.
Grab a cup of coffee or tea, or a soda, bottle of wat
- whatever - make yourself comfortable, and let's get started.
Utilize ambient noise: There's research suggesting that a certain level of ambient noise fosters creativity and can improve focus. It's not about cranking the volume of your favorite playlist, but rather seeking out coffee shop chatter, nature sounds, or white noise.
Train your brain with mindfulness: Meditation and mindfulness exercises can improve your ability to focus and quiet the mind. Not only can this practice enhance your creativity, but it also cultivates a stronger sense of mental discipline.
Implement the Pomodoro Technique: This method, developed by Francesco Cirillo, involves breaking your work into 25-minute chunks, with a 5-minute break in between. It's a simple, yet highly effective way to manage time and increase productivity.
Embrace boredom: In the age of constant stimulation, we often forget that boredom can fuel creativity. If you're feeling unfocused or unproductive, take a break and let your mind wander. You may find that your best ideas come when you're doing nothing at all.
Create rituals: Setting up a ritual before you start your creative work, like a cup of coffee or a walk around the block, can help signal your brain that it's time to focus and get down to business.
Mind your physical health: Exercise, sleep, and nutrition have profound effects on your cognitive functions. Neglecting any of these can hinder your ability to focus and produce quality work.
Follow your circadian rhythms: Everyone has a natural rhythm that dictates when they're most alert and focused. For some, it's early morning, while others thrive at night. Determine your most productive times and schedule your most important creative work during these periods.
Diversify your creativity: Engaging in a different creative outlet can not only break the monotony but also boost your overall creative energy. For instance, if you're a writer, try painting. If you're a musician, try cooking. The cross-pollination of skills can provide a fresh perspective.
Use the power of constraints: Constraints breed creativity. By limiting your options in some way—whether it’s time, resources, or a specific theme—you may find that you’re able to focus more intensely and produce more innovative work.
Disconnect from technology: It's crucial to carve out times when you're entirely disconnected from your devices. This encourages deep work and prevents the constant influx of digital distractions.
Practice regular reflection: Take time to review your work, your goals, your progress. Reflection helps you spot patterns, understand your own rhythms and preferences, and gain clarity about what works for you and what doesn't.
Master the art of saying 'No': Often, we're pulled in different directions due to obligations or opportunities. It's essential to learn to say 'No' to things that aren't serving your creative focus and productivity.
Embrace digital tools: Various digital tools can help manage tasks, set reminders, or block distractions. Explore apps like Evernote for note-taking, Trello for project management, or Freedom to block distracting websites.
Use nature as your ally: Spending time in nature has been shown to reduce stress, improve mood, and increase creativity. Make it a point to regularly take your creative work outside, or simply take breaks in natural settings.
Establish an inspiration archive: Having a go-to place for ideas and inspirations can help when you're feeling stuck or unfocused. This could be a physical notebook, a Pinterest board, or a document on your computer. Regularly adding to and reviewing this archive can spark new ideas and help.
You don’t have to do all of them, but find a few that work for you and be at peace in the world.
Also, make sure you have a physical map when you are thinking of taking a solo motorcycle trip in Wyoming.
Just sayin’…
Do you have a mantra?
Something that you keep in the back of your mind that helps you make decisions both art-related and just life stuff?
I have many.
Photographically, I live by this mantra:
There are photographs in front of you, whenever and wherever you are. You have to let yourself see them by putting yourself in the role of photographer.
I have others:
To be a photographer, one must first BE a photographer.
Three contacts a day will bring wild success.
Never start a land war in Asia.
The simplest solution usually has the best ROI.
Honesty given is honesty required.
Helping others is the best life.
Mantras.
Do you have any mantras or course-defining mindsets you use on a daily basis?
(Image Generated by Firefly)
I’ve Checked With Sources: Adobe Did NOT Bring The Apocolypse This Week
Adobe's addition of generative AI to Photoshop is really causing a lot of photographers to panic, and I think that is absolutely the wrong way to look at this stuff.
First - AI is not going to go away. Ever.
It is now stitched into the fabric of our lives and will become more and more pervasive in nearly everything we do.
How we react is binary: We learn and use it, or we fight against it like Don Quixote on a quest of sad failure.
For my creative art, I can pretty well predict I will never use generative fill. It doesn’t work with my aesthetic. As a professional, I would use the hell out of it - IF it could do what my customer needed.
It isn’t a contest of skills, it is a contest of customer service, client satisfaction, and being able to deliver as much value as you can.
Do not fall into the old “now everyone can do it so no one needs me anymore,” cycle of misunderstanding. Photography is a service business. It has always been a service business. Delivering delightful work that our clients can use to make more money is what this job has always been about.
(I will most likely never make anything with MidJourney or Dallee… they are thieves and hucksters who should be in orange jumpsuits. Outright criminals in my book.)
I am OK with Adobe’s use of ethically sourced imagery.
I use GPT every day.
I use my GPT sidebar to do research and make notes.
Bearly makes summaries of articles for me, while another AI summarizes YT videos so I can decide if I want to watch them or not.
Still another assistant in GMail will write letters to my exacting standards in about 3 seconds once I got it set up.
The ‘remove’ tool is fascinating and will be a huge help for photographers who shoot architecture, real estate, industrial, and other genres. I love the selection AI which makes localized adjustment possible. Fixing perspective, alleviating noise, sharpening… so many things that help photographers make their best images means this is a wonderful time to be an image-making professional.
And it will draw an even sharper distinction between those who are more “handmade” and authentic and the unreal AI work we are now beginning to see everywhere.
So it is a positive for those who go all in, those who use only what they need, and those who go their own way and continue to make ‘traditional’ imagery.
Distinctions are a good thing. As an aesthetic and a marketing tool.
And then there’s film… heh. Too much to unpack there.
What I am saying is this:
Stay abreast of the changes. Do not ignore what is happening.
Use what is available if it makes sense for you to use it.
Be fine with adopting new methods and working with new technology.
Be equally fine with not working with new technologies. We are not obliged to do what we do not want with our own art.
This is not a calamity.
It is an opportunity - an opportunity to set ourselves apart and use our own uniqueness as a market positioning tool.
No matter which way you lean on the great AI imaging debate.
Project 52 Pro Galleries
We put these up every week. These are the best images of the week from Project 52.
Take a look and bookmark it for inspiration.
We Read Books
From Amazon:
“Many famed music producers are known for a particular sound that has its day. Rick Rubin is known for something else: creating a space where artists of all different genres and traditions can home in on who they really are and what they really offer. He has made a practice of helping people transcend their self-imposed expectations in order to reconnect with a state of innocence from which the surprising becomes inevitable. Over the years, as he has thought deeply about where creativity comes from and where it doesn’t, he has learned that being an artist isn’t about your specific output, it’s about your relationship to the world. Creativity has a place in everyone’s life, and everyone can make that place larger. In fact, there are few more important responsibilities.
The Creative Act is a beautiful and generous course of study that illuminates the path of the artist as a road we all can follow. It distills the wisdom gleaned from a lifetime’s work into a luminous reading experience that puts the power to create moments—and lifetimes—of exhilaration and transcendence within closer reach for all of us.”
I saw this mentioned on Facebook and immediately ordered it. I love it.
You do not have to be a music producer to understand the power of creativity, and the power of not settling for less.
I really suggest this book to anyone who loves to think about and practice creativity at any level in any discipline.
The Creative Act: A Way of Being - Rick Rubin
That’s it for this week.
I hope you enjoy the Sunday dispatch.
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