creativity at work

i have been thinking a lot about what i wan tot do to be in shape. i joined wellbridge for the community of people and they also teach Nia there, which is a highly creative dance/kickboxing/yoga type of class. i feel super creative while i am doing it and it inspires me to find ways enjoying myself and exercising at the same time. i had a session with a personal trainer and he went through all these exercises i should go through twice a week. well…i went there for the first time by myself and spent about twenty minutes being miserable and wishing i were somewhere else. there comes a time when simple is better and not coming up with a unique plan of action is best all around. i decided to cancel my membership and i am just going to run. running is fun and i come up with lots of creative ideas while i’m doing it.

i’m takin a photojournalism class and we have been talking about creativity quite a bit.  we have come a long way in photography. there was a time when the person that was getting their picture taken had to stay still for an hour or more; which made it hard to take any pictures where there were moving people involved. now there are High Definition cameras that can take video and then simply choose the frame they want a still image of. does that mean that someday photographers will be out of business? maybe. they will no longer be needed to get the perfect shot that says the whole story in a single photo or capture someone jumping in puddles and getting that shot right before they hit the water, why? because a video camera can do it all. but what about creativity? are we letting go of it and simply moving on?
to be creative is to produce a product that is unique. creativity isn’t built in to a HD camera, video camera, digital camera or any other type of camera. it is true that they are very important tools in the process of being creative in the world of photography and photojournalism, but there is still a process and through that process something creative can be produced. something else to keep in mind is that the product doesn’t have to be a photograph. the product can be a feeling that someone gets after shooting all day and not capturing anything spectacular, but feeling good about learning or trying something new. if someone takes a unique picture and nobody ever sees it, is it still creative? if it produced some amount of satisfaction and enjoyment, then yes. we can only hope that the next generation of children enjoy the process of creativity through photography and photojournalism.

i was thinking about halloween and i was a bit digusted wiht the costumes that some kids wear. not that they were gross, but that they were boring. i remember dressing up for halloween, most years it was a huge drawn out affair. my mom or dad would spend days and days helping me prepare. one year i was a hershey kiss. my dad made the cardboard frame and then glued tin foil all over it. it even had a little paper thing coming out of the top of the hat that read, “kisses kisses kisses.” it seems like now parents just go to the closest costume shop and all the parts are included (except the batteries). halloween was fun the way i remember it, but now it is losin all the creativity it ever had. too bad, because it was the one day a year i could eat tons of candy and not get in trouble. i really wonder what it will be like when i have kids. hmmm…

i find that i get most creative when i am crazy busy. which i think might be some sort of defense mechanism. let me explain. when i get supper busy i get stressed out, anxious, and all around not at my best. my way of coping though is usually art or some other crafty project. i find that it makes me feel more at ease and i am able to think about other things going on more clearly. it is frustrating at times because when i make time to do something “creative” it usually means that i have the time and i find that it is harder to think of something to draw, write, etc.  i love creativity and i find that fostering a creative environment (for me) means keeping myself on my toes.