Essays, Flower Photography, Inspiration, Micro 4/3 (OM-D/M.Zuiko)

Creative Precursors

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Many of us have creative precursors that are early warning signs that something rattling around in our brains is getting close to emerging.

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OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko PRO 90 mm f/3.5 Macro IS, efov 180 mm, f/8, 1/250, ISO-2500, Handheld In-Camera Focus Stacking, full frame capture, subject distance 300 mm

Researching the creative process on the internet yields a few theories. Some of them are described in a very linear fashion.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko PRO 90 mm f/3.5 Macro IS, efov 180 mm, f/8, -0.7 EV, 1/200, ISO-2500, Handheld In-Camera Focus Stacking, full frame capture, subject distance 270 mm

One of the theories that I found went as far as identifying five distinct stages.

  1. Preparation
  2. Incubation
  3. Illumination
  4. Evaluation
  5. Implementation
OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 150 mm, efov 300 mm, f/6.3, 1/250, ISO-640, full frame capture, Handheld In-Camera Focus Stacking, subject distance 1.2 metres

I can’t speak for other folks… but I’ve never found that my creativity has been experienced in anything like five distinct stages. Things rattle around in my head like a pinball machine. Then… an alignment happens and whatever needs to get out crystalizes.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 210 mm, efov 420 mm, f/6.3, 1/250, ISO-640, full frame capture, Handheld In-Camera Focus Stacking, subject distance 1.6 metres

I have the barest minimum of musical ability… and it certainly is not deep enough to be able to create musically.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 240 mm, efov 480 mm, f/6.3, 1/250, ISO-500, full frame capture, Handheld In-Camera Focus Stacking, subject distance 1.1 metres

When I’ve watched various songwriters being interviewed I don’t recall any of them indicating that their creativity followed a specific five stage process.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 90 mm f/3.5 PRO IS Macro with M.Zuiko MC-14 Teleconverter @ 126 mm, efov 252 mm, f/8, 1/30, ISO-400, handheld in-camera focus stacking, subject distance 360 mm

Most of the musical creators spoke about a moment of inspiration… a spark that ignited the process. Sometimes a snippet of a song was jotted down… only to be used months… or even years later.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 90 mm f/3.5 PRO IS Macro with M.Zuiko MC-14 Teleconverter @ 126 mm, efov 252 mm, f/8, 1/60, ISO-400, handheld in-camera focus stacking, subject distance 380 mm

They may have started with a verse or two of lyrics. Or a melody. Or even a unique riff that stuck with them over time. Many musicians say they can’t identify from where their creativity originates. It simply appears and takes control of them. Sometimes a song will flow out in its entirety… almost magically.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 90 mm f/3.5 PRO IS macro with M.Zuiko MC-14 teleconverter @ 126 mm, efov 252 mm, f/11, 1/400, ISO-2500, handheld in-camera focus stacking, full frame capture, subject distance 290 mm

Many decades ago when I was in my late teens I regularly wrote poetry. The imagery would appear in my mind… then I’d write down what I saw. Most of my poems originated from tiny tidbits of ideas. A few of these poems turned into more prodigious works. None were particularly marketable and I was turned down by a number of publishers.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko PRO 12-40 f/2.8 @ 40 mm, efov 80 mm, f/5, 1/125, ISO-2500, Handheld In-Camera Focus Stacking, subject distance 325 mm

In my senior year of high school I wrote a one act play… and a pantomime. Both of those creative adventures required more dedication and effort… which I was happy to give.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 90 mm f/3.5 Macro PRO IS, efov 180 mm, f/11, 1/320, ISO-4000, in-camera handheld focus stacking, full frame capture, subject distance 310 mm

Throughout all of those experiences a couple of things remained constant. As soon as I finished creating something… I didn’t dwell on it. Or celebrate it. The feelings of joy and accomplishment that were experienced were found during the act of creating. After something was created I would disengage from it… and quietly move on… waiting for my next moment of inspiration to arrive. That still happens to me now…. all of these decades later.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 90 mm f/3.5 Macro PRO IS, efov 180 mm, f/11, -1.7 EV, 1/320, ISO-640, in-camera handheld focus stacking, cropped to 2916 pixels on the width, subject distance 300 mm

The other thing that has always happened to me was a physical sensation that acted as a creative precursor. The intensity of the physical sensation was directly related to the size and scope of the project. The more robust the project… the more intense the physical sensation would be.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 90 mm f/3.5 Macro PRO IS, efov 180 mm, f/8, 1/200, ISO-1250, in-camera handheld focus stacking, cropped to 3340 pixels on the width, subject distance 305 mm

And, to be clear… these physical sensations are never pleasant. These sensations are best described as some of my skin being peeled away… usually on my back. And… an invisible person following me around every waking minute with a salt shaker… sprinkling salt on my raw, exposed flesh.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 90 mm f/3.5 PRO IS Macro with M.Zuiko MC-14 Teleconverter @ 126 mm, efov 252 mm, f/5.6, 1/100, ISO-400, handheld in-camera focus stacking, subject distance 365 mm

As the creative pressure builds… trying to get out… the more intense the physical sensation becomes. Fortunately, once I actually begin creating the physical sensations dissipate.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 473 mm, efov 946 mm, f/6.3, 1/125, ISO-250, cropped to 4838 pixels on the width, Handheld In-Camera Focus Stacking, subject distance 7.5 metres

I finally finished creating Handheld Bird Photography on January 8th this year. It was a very unusual creative process for me… as I partially rewrote the eBook three times over the span of a few years. The creative process unexpectedly ebbed and flowed. The salt shaker appeared… then dissipated numerous times. I was glad when that creative adventure culminated.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 12-100 mm f/4 PRO IS @ 100 mm, efov 200 mm, f/5.6, 1/500, ISO-160

Within a couple of days of publishing Handheld Bird Photography the salt shaker was back. The physical sensations reappeared and built up quickly. Within a week I began creating Blossoms, Bugs & Butterflies. That eBook was published on this website on April 4th.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 90 mm f/3.5 Macro PRO IS, efov 180 mm, f/8, -0.3 EV, 1/250, ISO-640, in-camera handheld focus stacking, cropped to 4309 pixels on the width, subject distance 360 mm

For the past six weeks I’ve been dealing with the salt shaker almost every day. Not intensely at first… more like a slowly increasing burn. Four days ago all of the bits and pieces bouncing around in my brain aligned. This allowed me to create a mind-map to capture content areas… which quickly evolved into a logical flow of topics for the new eBook.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 90 mm f/3.5 PRO IS, f/8, 1/200, ISO-1250, Handheld Hi Res, subject distance 410 mm

I began physically constructing the new eBook on Friday last week. I’m now in the process of identifying and selecting images for the new eBook. Many images have already found their place on appropriate pages. I haven’t began to write any copy yet… I know I need to finish my photograph selection first.

OM-D E-M1x with M.Zuiko 90 mm f/3.5 PRO IS and M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter @ 180 mm, efov 360 mm, f/14, 1/320, ISO-3200, cropped to 4560 pixels on the width, in-camera handheld focus stacking, subject distance 940 mm

I don’t know how long this eBook bud will take to form into a finished blossom. I also don’t know how my creative energies will be affected in terms of writing articles for this website… as I dedicate time to work on this new eBook.

I apologize if the number of new articles that I produce for this website over the next while are reduced to some extent. Something larger is taking shape and commanding my attention. My sincere thanks to each of you for your understanding and ongoing support.

Technical Note

Photographs were captured handheld using camera gear as noted in the EXIF data. All images were created from out-of-camera jpegs and RAW files using my standard process in post. This is the 1530 article published on this website since its original inception in 2015.

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You may be interested in macro and close-up photography with some emphasis on blossoms, bugs and butterflies. If that’s the case our 210 page eBook Blossoms, Bugs & Butterflies may be of interest. It is available for download for an investment of $14.99 CDN. The best view experience will be at 100% using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

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Sometimes all we need as photographers is a bit of inspiration. We hope you can find some of that inside Finding Visual Expression II.

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You may be interested in all of the 30 concepts covered in both of these related eBooks. If so, you may want to also consider Finding Visual Expression.

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