How I Got Inspired Again
Hello my friends! This post is nothing but a few musings about my photography, my website, and a few personal notes.
This summer I took a bit of a break from working on my backgrounds. I think the best way to describe it is .. I coasted. The Shop was open, orders were going out and all was fine. I just wasn’t creating anything new .. no new designs, and barely any flat lays.
After almost 15 years of practising photography and taking thousands of photos, I felt like I’d hit a wall. Although I love creating flat lays and capturing images for my Shop, I was starting to feel like I was doing the same thing over and over—I had really limited myself.
Obviously I needed a change, and a photography challenge. Doing something new/different can boost creativity and helped me see all.the.things with a fresh new perspective. My plan was to keep creating still life images, but also to get outside and back to capturing the beauty of nature. So one day in early May, I simply picked up my camera and went outside.
One night I took a walk down the path that leads to the small lake we live on and tried to see something new in the surroundings that are so familiar to me .. 20 years familiar! I ended up capturing several images that didn’t seem very creative .. until I uploaded them to my computer and had a look. One in particular stood out and after a few LR edits and cropping, I was astonished! The path that I’m so familiar with looked mysterious!
For months I’ve been sharing images on my new(ish) Instagram account (barbbrookbank) as a way to inspire myself to pick up my camera and to “bring the joy back to my photography”.
Here I set a couple “vintage” bottles on my potting bench and snapped away, playing with shutter speed, aperture, and iso. I was thrilled with the bokeh and the different style of photography .. I was inspired!
A more organic, less styled approach:
It’s been like a breath of fresh air!
Because of this new perspective, I’ve been inspired to get out a few of my backgrounds and I’ve spent a lot more time creating new images for the Shop. In fact, I have to say I’m usually quite excited to get going in the morning!
So now a bit of what’s coming up with regards to my website and Shop.
Some of you may know I have severe arthritis .. I had a hip replacement a year and a half ago and now I’m facing another major surgery with a total knee replacement. All this means is that I’ll be taking the first week to 10 days of November to at least get up and about. All orders placed for backgrounds will be fulfilled by my hubby who will take care of shipping (as usual), however shipping may be a wee bit delayed.
As I recuperate, I’ll be spending time at my computer creating and fine-tuning new background designs. These will be available in early January at which time we’ll be back at our little Arizona townhouse for the remainder of the winter. For my Canadian customers, this means we’ll be shipping from within Canada until next year. Check out my recent post Free Shipping Tuesdays within Canada for current discounts.
From me and my favourite window xo
Beautiful images! And your story is so inspiring, though I’m just a hobbyist at photography, I too have been in a photo funk. It’s helpful to know even the most talented people can feel the same way as I do. Thank you for sharing your story. I luv your images! Wishing you the best and a speedy recovery.
Oh Tina, thank you so much for your kind words .. I’m quite blown away. I’m happy you found this inspiring xo
I hope all goes well with the operation and that your recovery will be speedy.
Also I am glad you got over your photography dip. I can relate. We probably all have that from time to time. Just grabbing your camera and clicking away helps getting out of it most of the time. It’s the picking up that camera that takes the most effort… keep on clicking ,-)
Marleen
Thank you Marleen, for your well-wishes, encouragement, and just for being here xo
Barb,
Sharing your story is so inspirational and so helpful to so many people. You make magic with your camera.
Take your time to rest and recover.
Can’t wait to see your new backgrounds ????
Love,
Ann
Thank you Ann, for your kind words xo
Barb,
Sharing your story is so inspirational and so helpful to so many people. You make magic with your camera.
Take your time to rest and recover.
Can’t wait to see your new backgrounds ????
Love,
Ann
I love these outside images. Of course I’m a big fan of your flat lays too. I’m so sorry you deal with severe arthritis. That is such a challenge. I hope your knee surgery went well. I fell at our construction site for our extension and fractured three bones in my ankle. Had surgery November 17th. I’m doing fine but severely limited. They don’t want me moving around much and I have a knee scooter. Can’t go outside (we live on a mountain top), can’t go upstairs where our bedroom and bathroom are. That was the point of the new construction in case of some supposedly future need. So I’m not photographing any or decorating for Christmas, so I’m trying to enjoy my lazy days. Fortunately, my husband is the cook anyway. Sometimes I send him out on the porch to take a phone snap of the morning or evening light and I’ll edit it. I hope by the end of all this recuperation time I’ll feel ready to pick up the camera. Meanwhile, the construction project keeps me busy. I’d already drawn the plans and done the specs, but there are always decisions to be made. At least I can do a lot online. Take care.