In The Frame 6-11-2023: What is Creativity, A Scavenger Hunt, And Exactly What To Say
I counted up the goodness in this dispatch and it was over the limit.
Creativity is a cocktail, a mix. It's got a splash of talent, sure, but it's loaded up with skill. Skill that is worked on, and refined, day in, day out.
We’re all born with certain gifts—innate talents, if you will. Some of us might have an eye for color, or design. Others, might think differently, see patterns where others don't. That's your talent component right there.
Innate, but not the whole story.
Because there's a kicker: talent's just the start.
It's like a spark.
But in order to make a fire, you need a spark.
And you need to feed it, fuel it, challenge it.
And that's the point where skill comes in.
You've got to work on your work, practice it, fail at it a bunch of times.
You learn more from your failures than you do from your wins.
You think Picasso just woke up one day, brush in hand, exclaiming, “I’m ready to revolutionize art”?
Nope.
He learned, practiced, fucked up, practiced some more, got a win, suffered a lot of losses, and after a while the wins began to overtake the losses.
He made art his craft, his skill, his reason for everything.
So let’s get creative, and do creative things with our creativity!
Get ready to work.
Take that talent, that spark you've got, and fan it into a flame.
It's not going to be easy, but I guarantee it's worth it.
Creativity is a journey, and a necessarily challenging one.
And it's waiting for you to step up and own it.
Now, you might be thinking, "Some folks, they just got it, right? Born with that “creative gene."
And you're not entirely off base.
Science tells us some folks have brains wired a certain way, a way that gives 'em a leg up in the creative department.
Genetic traits, brain structures—all of that stuff is real.
But it doesn’t actually matter because no one's cornered the market on creativity.
It's not some exclusive club with a cool 30-second handshake and a whispered code at the door to get in… “Picasso sent me”.
Creativity belongs to you, me, the guy and gal next door.
So is there a secret ingredient?
Yeah, here it is; It's not what you're born with, but what you do with it.
Sure, you might have a predisposition. But creativity doesn't just bloom. It's a seed that needs constant and consistent nurturing.
So you water it, give it sunlight. You give it what it needs to grow. That's where the right strategies come in.
Feed your curiosity—daily if you can, but as often as you can for sure.
Push your boundaries every time you get a chance. Every time.
Challenge yourself. Give yourself nearly impossible tasks to fail at so you can practice reaching for the invisible ring and learn to fall with grace and new information for the next time you take on a task.
Surround yourself with different perspectives, different ideas, different everything. In fact, make it a priority.
Stop living in an echo chamber. Get out and hear the beautiful noise, find your own instrument, and make your music heard.
Don't forget about your environment.
It's gotta be supportive.
It's gotta encourage you to take risks, to explore, to dream.
Creativity isn't a natural inclination. It's a muscle.
And just like any muscle, you've gotta work it out.
So yeah, some people might have a head start, but remember—it's not about where you start, but where you're going.
Creativity is accessible to all.
It's yours to cultivate, yours to own.
All you have to do is put in the work.
The medium rare meat of the matter—how you can stoke your own creative fire.
First up: curiosity.
You've got to be really curious.
You must ask questions, seek answers, dig for more knowledge.
Turn over rocks, peer into corners, shine lights into the scary darkness.
Curiosity should be your compass. The lack of it, your downfall.
It'll lead you to new ideas, new paths, new ways of seeing.
Don't be afraid to say, "What if?"
Next? Mindfulness.
You've got to be present, really here, in the moment. In THIS moment.
Notice the details, soak up the moments.
Creativity is fed by a hungry awareness, by intense close observation.
And you can't observe shit if you're always thinking about yesterday or tomorrow or who said what, or how many followers you have on Pinstergram.
Be in the now.
Third on the list: divergent thinking.
OK, this one's a biggie, although a very succinct idea.
Divergent thinking is about possibilities.
It's saying, "Hey, moron, there's more than one solution to this problem."
It's about exploring, branching way out, going where no one's gone before (unless it looks really dicey and you have $11K of cameras around your neck and a dead cell phone).
Then, of course, we've got the growth mindset.
You've got to believe all the way down to your toes that you can grow, that you can most definitely improve.
This is as important as bacon to a BLT; without it, you just have a salad.
Practice believing in your creativity. Make more art. Make a lot more art. Make something every damn day. BELIEVE you can.
I do.
And know this: creativity isn't static; it's a full-on apocalyptic-riddled ride through uncharted territory with few roads and fewer rest spots.
It's a long journey on a rickety old motorcycle without a reserve gas tank and a skanky-looking front tire, and you've got to just start that bad boy up, mount it, and ride.
And you've got to be willing to stumble, to fall, and then get back up again, so wear your leathers and a good helmet.
Lastly, remember this, and take it deep, deep to heart: you must practice.
Creativity's not a little blue switch you flip whenever you feel like it—it's a muscle you flex. Work it out, baby. Hit the metaphorical gym and get metaphorically exhausted - no pain, no gain.
You've got to put in the reps, do the work, get tired, recover, and be ready to start the whole thing over again.
The more you use your creativity, the stronger it becomes.
So there you have it. Curiosity, mindfulness, divergent thinking, growth mindset, and practice. They're your tools, your weapons. Use them wisely, use them well, and let your creativity soar.
But how do we measure creativity?
Yeah, it's not like a high school test where you can write in the answers on your sneakers so cranky old Ms. Phillips doesn’t see them, no fill-in-the-blanks or multiple-choice questions here.
It's far more nuanced and far more complex.
Think about it.
Creativity's about divergent thinking and problem-solving, right?
It's about coming up with new ideas, new solutions, new ways of seeing, new ways of being.
When it comes to measuring creativity, we've got to look at a large list of compelling factors.
Here's how it typically goes.
We give someone a task, something that pushes them to think, to create.
It could be anything—drawing a picture, writing a story, making a photograph of a silver serving bowl on a white background with no visible camera in the reflection and clearly delineated from the surface by alternating colors of green and blue, solving a problem.
We're just looking for a little originality here.
Not a damn regurgitation of what's been done before.
We want to see something new, something different, something to make us feel or think.
I tell my students: Show me something I haven’t seen before, or something I have seen before in a way that I have never seen it.
And then we push to take it a step further.
We don't just want to see one idea—we want many.
That's the essence of divergent thinking.
It's about branching out, about exploring all the possible paths.
Creativity is not just about the 'what', it's also about the 'how'.
How do you approach a problem?
How do you think outside the box?
How do you turn an ordinary idea into something extraordinary?
It's subjective AF, it's incredibly complex. It can make us tired, confused, melancholy, angry, excited, elated, and occasionally a little light-headed.
But at the end of the day, it's about pushing the boundaries, breaking crusty old molds, and finding exciting new paths.
Creativity is not chained to the easel, confined to the music studio, or hiding in that brand-new Zed9 with all the lenses and that “new camera” smell. (sigh)
It's literally everywhere.
In every field, every discipline, every endeavor known to humanity, creativity has a massive role to play.
Let’s say you're a scientist—you need creativity.
You've got a problem to solve, a mystery to unravel.
Creativity helps you think of a new approach, a new experiment, a new solution.
Or you're a businessperson.
You need creativity.
How do you outthink the competition?
How do you satisfy your customers in ways no one else has thought of?
That's creativity at work.
Even a chef needs creativity.
How do you spice up that classic dish?
How do you create a new flavor combination that no one's tasted before?
Creativity is the connecting spark.
It drives innovation, fuels progress, eliminates stagnation.
It's what pushes us to look beyond what we know and imagine what could be.
Creativity is your most important tool. It's your super-double-secret, incredibly powerful, weapon.
We use it to make art, and we use art to make a difference.
A Photographic Scavenger Hunt
When you are engaged with this sort of project, you stay in “photographer mode” during times when you usually are not. Think of it as the gym for creatives.
Light and Shadow Play: Capture a scene where light and shadow work together to create an intriguing composition. The balance is your challenge.
Urban Geometry: In the city's hustle and bustle, find lines, shapes, and patterns that bring order to the chaos.
Stranger's Story: With a single candid shot, tell a compelling story about a stranger.
Simplicity in Nature: Find a minimalist scene in nature. The challenge is in the simplicity - less is truly more.
Weathering the Storm: Capture the dramatic change in the environment before, during, or after a storm. Embrace the elements.
Reflection Reality: Use reflections to capture a unique perspective of a familiar place. Glass, water, or shiny surfaces - you pick.
Decaying Beauty: Photograph something decaying or abandoned, but still holds a certain charm or beauty.
Textures and Tones: Focus on texture. Create an abstract image emphasizing texture and tone over form.
Macro World: Go macro. Capture a close-up image that makes the small world fascinating.
Moving Subject: Freeze or blur the motion of a moving subject. This could be anything from a bustling city street to a single bird in flight.
Night Sky Wonders: Photograph the night sky, making celestial bodies a central element. Don't let the darkness intimidate you.
Architectural Abstracts: Use architecture to create an abstract image. Use lines, light, or form to redefine what buildings can be.
Life in a Puddle: Use a puddle reflection to capture an alternative view of life. Make the mundane magical.
Window Narratives: Through a window, capture a story - it could be a café scene, someone at home, or a cat waiting for its owner. Your lens, their reality.
Surreal Self-portrait: Create a self-portrait that's out of the ordinary. Manipulate your environment or pose to produce a surreal effect. This is about you, but with a twist.
Remember, these prompts aren't about the perfect shot. They're about observing, trying, learning, and, most importantly, having fun with your camera. Enjoy the hunt!
If you do this, send me a link to a web page with all the images on it and I will share them with everyone.
Book Suggestion
EWTS: Exactly What To Say
Your Personal Guide to the Mastery of Magic Words.
Look… just buy this.
Freaking awesome stuff.
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