I realize that many of my recent posts have been about life and introspection, and you may be saying, “Hey what happened to the photography?” Well, I have realized over the last few months that it is impossible to make honest images without first taking a good look at myself. As a result, my posts have been more philosophical. Its definitely not a bad thing, as I learn a lot of great things about myself every day. I hope they come through in my images.
Lying at the crossroads of three major ecosystems, I have always thought Zion National Park is a bit of a confused place. The Great Basin, Colorado Plateau, and Mojave Desert collide pretty much at the entrance to Zion Canyon, making for a unique landscape of red rock, datura, and ponderosa pines, one that draws thousands of tourists a year.
Lately I have been thinking about decisions, crossroads, and the paths we take in life. A friend of mine has told me several times that each sunset gives us an opportunity to reflect on our decisions, and each sunrise is a chance to either change them, or stay the course. The more I think about it, that’s a good way to look at life. A few months ago, David Leland Hyde guest-blogged for me and wrote about the decisions we make as photographers. Are we to make our own tripod tracks, letting the world hear our unique voice, or are we to make the derivative iconic images that have been made before? Is that truly original?
I think there’s more buried in David’s post than there initially appears to be. What I am realizing more every day is that my decisions as a person shape who I am as a photographer–these two things are not mutually exclusive. My images are my voice; through them you see the world as I do. To some extent, you see sadness, elation, and melancholy in my portfolio. I can feel the days that creativity is flowing inside of me; its like a warmth deep in my bones. Terry Tempest Williams wrote, “To discount wild beauty is to discount inspiration. Without inspiration, creativity dies.” This must surely mean that with inspiration, creativity can thrive–we can choose to accept beauty, and thus to be creative. Our choices affect us deeply and they shine through in our body of work.
The junction where we find Zion Canyon is arguably one of the more beautiful places in North America. There is a lot of solace here, knowing that each decision we make has the potential to be very positive, both for our general character, and for our art. What we do with that knowledge is up to us.
At the crossroads, November 2011
You are right. One of the gift blogs provide us is not only images to enjoy but the words of the author. I pickup bits and pieces from them that help in the understanding of who I am. This is what I found in your blog this morning, “My images are my voice; through them you see the world as I do.” Thanks!
You’re most welcome, Monte, and thank you for commenting! After thinking about your comment, and the passage you quoted, all day I realized that it is pretty fitting…you do see the world as I do, and the images may not always be perfect, but neither is the world through my eyes (just as I’m not perfect…).
Thanks again for stopping by!
Greg
Excellent post Greg. It’s true — knowing who you are is key to finding your own voice as an artist, and it’s a never-ending process. Without that search you’ll end up more or less following the herd.
“Without inspiration, creativity dies”…
Powerful words. I’ve been feeling a bit of that myself lately…
Yeah, I’ve been feeling it a bit too, PJ. But, good things are on the horizon. I can feel it.
I go through phases where the search feels more important than other times…right now it feels especially urgent.
I’ve really been enjoying these more philosophical posts of yours; I strongly believe that self-examination helps us further develop our creativity, and understand what it is we’re trying to share through our art.
Thanks, Robin! I’m glad the posts aren’t annoying. 🙂 I’ll keep sharing, as I mull things over a bit.
I agree with you completely about self-examination…
Very well said, Greg. I don’t write much at all about our photography. I think I’ll just steal from you. 🙂 (JUST KIDDING!!)
You find beautiful ways of expressing what landscape photography is for some of us. Thank you,
Sharon
Haha….thanks Sharon! 🙂 I always appreciate your comments, and think you really gave me a big compliment here…I’m glad you can relate…
Great post Greg. Our personal lives and photographic lives are indeed intertwined and sometimes the conflicts we discover in one can strengthen the other.
Thanks, Russ, I appreciate it! I agree completely…
Greg, there is a lot of profundity in this, We make choices all the time but rarely, in my experience, think about the ‘sunrise’ factor. I am about to hit 55 and if I were to have the last 35 years again I would make very different choices from career to lifestyle. As we often say, if only I knew then what I know now…… Your posts help me if nobody else reflect on some of the more important issues in life and I like very much the linkage to the domain of photography.
Thanks for your always insightful comment, Andrew. Yes, as they say, hindsight is indeed 20/20, and unfortunately there is no way sometimes of knowing ahead of time where a decision will lead us, but I do like the idea of the sunrise factor. Often times we can reverse decisions if we are so moved to do so…
I think the introspection allows us as readers to get to know you and your images much more deeply. I would love to be able to put words together as do you on my own blog rather than just saying “here’s a picture I hope you like it”. It’s a great talent to be able to communicate in both language and vision and in your doing so you enable us to see ourselves a little more clearly.
I hope you will continue along this path.
Thanks, Steve. Well, I figure my words have to compensate for my images. 😉
Joking aside, I really appreciate your feedback on the direction of my recent posts!
It is an honor to have you compliment my post by saying there’s more in it below the surface. That material below the surface is the real message. To have someone as talented as you, Greg, say that I inspired you, hopefully will not go to my head. Clearly, from the comments on both posts, inspiration and finding one’s way, one’s voice, are very important to many photographers. From this I interpret there is still hope for the world and for each of us as we approach, pause for a bit and turn at our own crossroads.
Thanks for this really insightful comment, David. I would agree that–at least from the photographers I’ve talked to–finding one’s voice is a timely and important subject.
I think introspection is an important exercise from time to time for everyone, not just photographers…
By the way, I like your photograph there at the end of this post above. Great color combinations.
And, while we’re on the subject, please don’t allow anyone to forget about your post on my blog, which was a huge hit:
http://landscapephotographyblogger.com/guest-posts/moving-past-the-repertoire-by-greg-russell/
Thanks for the link, David..I appreciate it!
Well spoken. I love to hear about the philosophical musings of the photographer just as much as I love to see the photograph, since they are so closely tied together!
Thanks, Allison! I appreciate it!