Be Creative: Manifesto Part 2

Part 2 of 2

Have we lowered our standards of creative intelligence to wait and see what the machine replicates?

Great things come out of crap. A couple of examples: the universe, the soil, our food, death to rebirth. It is all based on the idea that great things come out of crap.

This gets me to the purpose of this manifesto on “Be Creative”.

What is the purpose of life? To entertain the rest of nature, Gary Snyder wrote that and it’s true. Humans were created last, be it of God’s will or the last thing the primordial ooze of evolution got to. We were placed on this planet after everything else was done. We are only here to entertain the rest of nature.

Create something new, daily, that is your purpose. Creativity entertains, heals and sustains life; it is what we were pre-destined to do.

If we leave creativity to the machines, it is as if we are committing suicide. Consciously attempting to will ourselves out of existence. What is left for humanity when creativity is done by machines? What then is our purpose?

You want to know how to live to your fullest potential? It is done by creating something new, daily. Great things come from crap. Make mistakes, fail often, this will lead to acts of discovery.


I have dreams of becoming a motivational speaker on “Be Creative”. You know; late night infomercials, book tours, conversations with Oprah, Barbra Walter’s 10 most fascinating people of the year. I foresee the whole gamut of possibilities in my head.

I believe in the power creativity, beyond that I believe it is our only purpose to live on this planet. I believe everything we do is a creative act if we purposely choose it to be. Education, child rearing, cooking, prayer, exercise. “Be Creative” is the forethought of the “why” of doing what we choose to do. What we choose to place purpose and effort into.

Being creative will cure disease, it will help you sleep better, it will help you lose weight, it will help you connect better with others…it is the fountain of youth. Can you now in-vision my conversation on Oprah (Welcome to the show, the guru on “Be Creative”. I’ll come out dressed only in white robes, it will be trippy.)

Ok, so I am getting a little new age-y. Let me finish off with one last new age-y thing then I will get back to the real life.

Embracing our artistic-ness is the next wrung on the evolutionary ladder of life. It is human nature to seek purpose…this is it.

Your purpose is to be creative. Go out into the world and create great things out of crap. If you work in accounting be creative, think different. If you work in construction, think out loud, share your ideas. If you’re a teacher embrace your ideas that are already swirling around in your head.

Creativity is only thought, don’t let the machine do it for you. Your purpose is to make this world a better place through your artistic thoughts and actions. Share what you created, give it away, brag about it, get feedback, share ideas and most importantly live…for that is why you were created.

Art’s purpose is to serve. Serve it well.

Be Creative: Manifesto

Part 1 of 2

I am beginning to feel more and more like a defender of the creative dharma. In all of my classes and workshops on photography I utter the phrase repeatedly, “you cannot purchase your way to being a better photographer.”

A photograph is everything that happens before the snap of the shutter. I do mean everything; every book that you read, every movie that you watch, every walk that you have taken, every conversation that you have had. A photograph is the history of the person holding the camera, a true perspective.

A photographer is only a photographer for his ability to see. To truly see the world though a lens equally physically, mentally and spiritually; this is how to create. Photographs evolve on their own, a photographer has to evolve to keep the creative dharma alive.

Photography is not “wait and see”. So many times I watch budding photographers shooting in Auto mode and critique their photos after capture. A photo is not a remix of what the computer inside your camera took. The purpose of a photograph is to create the image you want, not to wait and see.

I have started to ask the question: is the digital age making us less creative?

It seems that we are in a culture of mash-up and re-mixes of yesterday’s works. A culture of how to react without ever placing effort into the original act of creating a photo, or whatever medium you chose to work in.

The digital age has been a blessing for me, don’t get me wrong, I do not want to go back to the analog age (except for albums, bring them back) and I definitely do not want to go back to the darkroom or even film. Still the question that I raise is, “is our dependence on technology to fix things killing our will create things?”

More times than not I get asked the question for a “how-to map” on how to fix things after capture than I do on how to create things in camera. There is no map, only a journey.

Great things come out of crap. Believe it. A great cellist can play beautiful music on a crap of a cello. A pristine instrument is preferred, but the music is in the hands, mind and heart of cellist. Why should it be any different for a photographer?

It does not matter how smart our machines-computers-camera have become. Photography is about the person holding the camera, not the machine. People create, machines warehouse our work.

Slow Photography Movement

Let me start with a story of how this idea came to me.

Scrolling through the blog of one my favorite local photographers (&person) she had posted this photo.

When I look at this photograph I often wish I had the opportunity to take this photo.

I do not know how this particular photo was taken. I can’t even venture a guess, at least not a good one...yet. It has me thinking….maddening yet wonderful thought about how I can do this.

I am not looking to plagiarize Joanne's work but I desperately want to be a chameleon to it…

Joanne's photo paired with my recent workshops, photo walks, conversations and e-mail discussions has me thinking about what is a complete photograph?

For me the least important thing to a great photos is the snap of the shutter; I am most interested in what happens before capture.

Composition, environment, emotions & inspiration…

The things that I do not care to know: Type of camera, camera setting, what lens, software, and post-production work was done.

If I can make an artistic guess it would be that this photo was completed in Joanne’s mind's eye long before it was captured in camera.

This photo brings me back full circle to a question that I asked on Facebook last week: What is the “Right” problem to fix in photo-education?

Thank you to all who answered. Your responses were remarkable, appreciated and the foundation for this article.

The feedback I gained can be listed in three categories/problems that need to be addressed.

Ethics, Ego & Stuff

A photograph is none of these things. A photograph begins with a thought.

A photograph is not: an obsession with equipment, an ability to purchase gear, it is not biz skills nor people skills, it is not using auto-canned-modes on your camera, hell it's not even about being able to shoot in Manual mode. (Manual mode is super important…. it’s your foundation)

I would ask photographers to think about their craft as:

Art, Morals and Truth

Tackling the right problem, that is struggle. Expanding your range of options rather than narrowing your perspective. A photograph is about YOU, not buying into someone else’s techniques or tips. It is about you developing and eye and situational problem skills.

Joanne's photograph has me thinking about how to weave patterns to discover interesting stories. And to question the purpose of how it was imagined. And doing all this while removing boundaries of what my conception of visual art is.

For a good two weeks I have been thinking about this photo and never once have I picked up my camera to try to replicate it. I can honestly tell you that I am a better photographer today than I was two weeks due to this process.

Slow Photography Movement…what is it????

It a philosophy about photography on how to transform and include yesterday's foundation of photography with the technologies that photography has to offer today. It is about the all-encompassing topics of art, morals and truth.

This is the start of a conversation; join in…more to come on this topic.

Let’s discuss….