It’s been almost 3 months since my last post. Not exactly the best way to build an audience. I was on a good roll in 2022 with my best year of blogging since 2016. OH well. I ended that post nearly three months ago stating my next post would be about the framework for moving forward with mental and physical health & fitness. I actually wrote the post but didn’t post it. Something just didn’t feel quite right about it. Honestly, I am glad I didn’t post it as I have learned a lot and worked through some personal challenges and goals.

Today’s post isn’t exactly addressing mental and physical health and fitness. Rather, it’s about one of the challenges I have had in the last three months, creativity. I have been in a bit of a creative slump for a number of reasons. Don’t assume they are bad reasons either. I have just had my focus elsewhere; travel, friends, fitness, family, etc. I just have not been putting energy into creative work. The spark simply was not there. Not putting energy into creativity, at least for me, is a recipe for not feeling great.

Before I get into sharing some progress in my creative and personal work, I want to share some quotes taken from @inspiredtowrite Instagram feed. These are a few slides from a post they shared that helped me get through my slumP, lack of sharing and self doubt about why the heck I pursue photography and art in the first place?

YOU ARE STILL A CREATIVE EVEN WHEN YOU’VE SPENT A LONG TIME AWAY FROM YOUR ART

YOU ARE STILL A CREATIVE EVEN WHEN YOU ARE IN THE IDEATION PHASE AND ALL YOUR DOING IS DAYDREAMING

YOU ARE STILL A CREATIVE IF YOU ARE NOT SHARING IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA

YOU ARE STILL A CREATIVE EVEN IF YOUR ART MAKES LITTLE OR NO MONEY

YOU ARE STILL A CREATIVE EVEN WHEN YOUR MENTAL HEALTH REQUIRES YOU TO STEP AWAY FOR A TIME

YOU ARE STILL A CREATIVE EVEN IF NO-ONE ELSE KNOWS

@INSPIREDTOWRITE

It’s strange that I ran across these quotes the same day I took probably my favorite photograph in many many months. I also feel they were delivered at just the right time and at what feels like a creative explosion and personal mental breakthrough.

I have learned these past few months have not been unproductive. The time away was well spent and gave me the needed space to see and do other things. With that, here are two sequences that bring me immense joy, not only in creating them but also in sharing them.

Click on images to view larger and in slideshow mode.

This first set is from a recent bike ride. I crave these minimal landscapes. It is in these places that I find myself the freest. I wanted to play with combining black and white with color. The resulting images create a tile-like feeling. I intend to play quite a bit more with mixing black & white with color images.

This last set was from a quick escape with my wife. We spent a few days in the sun in Mexico. Often when I, or we, travel it is the movement and transportation that get my creative juices flowing. Not this time. We didn’t even leave the resort! I found all the inspiration I needed in one place. The resulting images have deep meaning and connect me to those special moments & memories.

My next post will be catching up on the things that happened in the three months I skipped sharing. I also have a lot of travel and projects coming up. Should be an exciting and eventful spring. As always, thanks for reading along, and don’t hesitate to leave a comment or reach out if something is on your mind!