Getting out of a rut

Cornflake

Recently I was in a rut. It occurred to me that it might shake things up if I experimented with doing the opposite of what I normally do in every regard. I got a lens I seldom use. I set the camera to f/3,2, 1/100, auto ISO and left it there. I took a few snapshots of a vase of flowers in our living room, ignoring the blossoms and photographing the stems and the light on the vase. I walked around in my neighborhood and started shooting whatever grabbed my eye instinctively and quickly. I shut off that little voice that tells us “you can’t do that, nobody will like that.” These are all the reverse of my usual approach, which is mostly methodical and perfectionist. In processing I kept everything quick and dirty and odd. I set a white balance that was “wrong,” such as flourescent for a sunlit scene. Instead of making small adjustments I pushed the sliders to maximum and then backed off until the result was interesting. You get the idea.

I got no masterpieces but I got surprisingly interesting results. I also had fun. The photos below are examples, not offered for photographic merit.

black mamba

Getting out of a rut is not a bad thing, Don. I occasionally do it myself. The last two shots are my favorites. Well done.

Juano

Don, you’re onto something here! Cool shots! My favorites are 1, 4, 5 and 6. Look forward to seeing more!

Cornflake

Thanks, Tom and Cristobal. Give it a try. It's fun. I did some of it in my living room.

Juano

I will give it a try for sure

Cornflake

I think you'll enjoy it.

I photographed the lamp because I've seen it every day for the last decade and never really looked at it. I learned how seldom I really look at all the things all around me. Reminds me of an art professor who taught to students to really LOOK at paintings by requiring them to sit in front of one for a half hour and just look at it. The most common response was that they kept seeing more and more things they hadn't noticed.

ziggy53

Number 3 is stunning, IMO. The limited grayscale and relatively high-key exposure, along with the simple, overlapping theme, just trips my 'likee' trigger. 👍👍

In the warmer months I sometimes find a favorite spot, stop, close my eyes, and just listen. Often, my hearing identifies a singular region of interest. Then, with eyes open, I try to identify some subject or objects in the scene to represent what I heard.

It might require an uncommon field-of-view, and the technique doesn't always work, but sometimes it yields curious results.

Cornflake

Thanks, ziggy. Glad you liked that one!

"In the warmer months I sometimes find a favorite spot, stop, close my eyes, and just listen. Often, my hearing identifies a singular region of interest. Then, with eyes open, I try to identify some subject or objects in the scene to represent what I heard." That's intriguing. Maybe I'll try it. At a minimum it would tell you if something was going on near you.

Any of these ideas may work well for some people and do nothing for others. I think the underlying theme is to try doing things differently. I realized that almost every aspect of what I do had become a habit , including overthinking almost every photo I took.

Don

Juano

I started today with my 50mm that I never use... We'll see if something cool comes up.

Cornflake

El Gato

Tom....

Excellent images and proof of concept...shaking things up and breaking routines does indeed lead to innovation and most times to very interesting outcomes.

Well done.