I went on one of my regular writer’s retreats and came back with all these ideas. One is a time travel short story. The other is screenplay for a romcom dealing with the power of modern technology.
And, yet, I still have four novels to work on and saving up the money to buy a really good Nikon camera so I can make that my second “creative track.”
So, while I might give myself 24 hours to be somewhat distracted by the short story, unless something big happens, after that, I’m going to throw myself fully back into the novels.
But I definitely feel like if I had someone in my life to kind of manage my creativity, I might be able to knock out a lot more art. And, yet, the only way that’s going to happen to me is, well, if I become a sucess.
by Shelt Garner @sheltgarner I love photos like this because you really get to see the person’s emotion. What is she thinking? (Probably, why is this strange American taking a picture so close to my face.)
I’m hoping with the new Nikon 780 I’m saving up for, I won’t have to get SO close to people’s faces to get pictures like this. But I really love pictures like this one.
The more I think about it, the less I care about actually having any interaction with the subjects I might take pictures of should I get what I want, which is a career (of some sort) in the fashion industry.
Lulz. I’m obsessed with the art of fashion. The actual people involved can do their own thing. If they’re gracious enough to allow me to sit with the cool kids, then, great. But, honestly, just having the opportunity to take pictures of gorgeous women in gorgeous clothes would be enough.
But having said all that, I find myself thinking about my first memories of fashion photography. For some reason, even as a young man, I was drawn to the work of Helmut Newton. I liked the stark, austere nature of his work. That he was working with the best looking women in the world, didn’t hurt.
My best Helmut Newton-influenced photo I have available. Helmut Newton of Catherine Deneuve
Anyway, lulz. No one cares. And if they do care, they think — at this point — that I’m totally delusional and bonkers. Which, at this point, I am. But I’m notorious for taking a tiny opportunity to running with it at light speed. So, it’s at least possible that once I get the Nikon camera I’m working towards buying that something might, at last, break my way.
I don’t know what to tell you. Either I’m going to always be an Internet crank, or something’s going to change in a big way.
I’m in a unique position in my life where my obvious eccentricities work in my favor. At the moment, I kind of live in the middle of nowhere and all I have to do with my time — thankfully — is write the four novels I’m working on.
And, yet, I’m not getting any younger. I really need to squeeze out every interesting experience I can possibly squeeze out while I still have air in my lungs. If you don’t understand my logic so far, or you’re hate reading this — please fuck off. Why are you reading my blog to begin with?
Anyway, I find myself harkening back to something that is the OTHER part of my identity besides being a writer: being a photographer.
I have an innate, organic photographic ability and I’ve taken some damn good shots over the years. Some examples are below.
Photo Credit: Shelt Garner
Photo Credit: Shelt Garner
It’s been years since I owned a great digital camera that I wasn’t gifted. (I got a really good camera from someone, but it didn’t quite fit my needs so I haven’t really used it that much, sadly.)
But I remember the pride I felt with a real, honest-to-God camera in my hands — not just a cellphone with a camera in it. That’s the thing that people don’t appreciate — being a photographer is just as much an identity with meta needs as anything else. If you’re a photographer, you need a camera, not just a cellphone with a camera.
Since I don’t live in a city — not even close — and I’m going to have to go out of my way to think up something to take a picture of, I’m leaning into this fact. Instead of rushing into things, why not take my time and save the sizeable chunk of money necessary to buy such a great camera as the Nikon 780? I want a camera that is so good that not only can I grow into it but in a crisis moment it will allow me to take The Picture that is so good it might become historic or something. I have such a picture in me, I just need the proper equipment and the proper moment in time.
Things could still go wrong. And if something happens, I’m very open to buying a camera that’s not such a budget buster. But there are some very specific conditions that allow me to pursue this dream.
Once I get everything I need with the camera, I’m going to start looking for public events to take pictures of so I can practice my abilities. And I’m probably going to have to teach myself some of the actual nuts-and-bolts of photography.
As it stands, I just have an organic instinct as to how to take a great picture.
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