I never thought myself as “creative”. I once tried to scrapbook. I was so frustrated! My sister would throw together pages in minutes and I would still be deciding where to put the first picture on the page. I am not a creative dresser: I stick to solid colors for clothes and feel like a rebel when I pair jeans with a blue shirt. Don’t ask me why, but somehow I feel artsy wearing almost the same color but not. Then when people ask about being a photographer somehow the words “creative” and “artist” come up. I always told people that I am not creative or an “ar-tiste”. I just like taking quality photos. But slowly as time passes and I see more and more photographers out there I do notice a difference. It is in knowledge and practice. The thing I have come to learn is that being creative isn’t something you have or don’t have. You don’t have to wear funky glasses or mismatched clothing to be a certified “creative”. It starts with a desire to want to do something, i.e. photography. Then it’s what you do what that desire that determines your creativity. Photographers who are new haven’t spent the time to learn their gear, the basics of composition and light and are therefore confined by their limited knowledge. As I grow in my knowledge of photography my pictures will be come better, but more importantly I won’t be hindered by lack of the unknown. I am able to picture a story in my head, prepare for it, shoot it, and have a print come out exactly like I first imagined it. For the first time today I actually looked up the word “creative”. Webster’s Dictionary says creativity is “marked by the ability or power to create”. That is all! If you are creating images every day, then you are creative. How creative, well that depends on you.
Our daughter Adelaide and one of her many creative outfits that she put together herself. Here, on her way to church.
