Category: Creativity

The Tension between Creativity and Efficiency

3/14/2019

It has been slightly more than a month since my last blog post. Oops! That was not the plan! I had anticipated a break while I was visiting Canada since my parents live completely off the grid. (This includes no internet access.) However, I had hoped to hit the ground running upon my return to Japan. Instead, I came down with a wicked case of bronchitis and am only now feeling like I'm back in the land of the living. Whew!

One good thing about this break, however, was that I had a lot of time to catch up on podcasts and web articles that I had tucked away. Several were exceptional and today I'd like to introduce a podcast that I've been mulling over ever since I first heard it.

I often listen to Jocelyn K. Glei's podcast, Hurry Slowly. Her aim is to help her listeners "find more creativity and meaning in their daily work". I always find her interviews and monologues to be thoughtful and stimulating but a recent podcast about the tension between creativity and efficiency was particularly insightful.

In this busy world, it's easy to think that creativity can be manipulated and made to conform to our ideas of productivity and how things get done. Not true, Jocelyn reminds us. That's not how creativity works.

Favorite quotes:

There is no technology, no time-saving device that can alter the rhythms of creative labor.
Remarkable creative projects don’t come from efficiency. If anything, they come from inefficiency. From doggedly ignoring all the rules and saying I am going to devote an ungodly amount of time to this thing that no one else thinks is important but that I think is important.

I've been struggling with a bit of a creative dry spell and so her words were a great reminder to give the creative process the time and space it needs. (Which is not to say the one doesn't need discipline as well, of course!)

I will most certainly be listening to this podcast again. In fact, I highly recommend it for anyone who does creative work or any kind. So, if that's you, off you go! (^.~)/

Link:Jocelyn K. Glei: Creativity vs Efficiency

By the way, if you do listen to the podcast, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Just leave a comment below.

(Completely unrelated but here's a photo of overgrown asparagus in my mother's garden.)

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"10 Upgrades for 2019"

1/17/2019

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I can always count on David DuChemin for encouragement and thoughtful advice regarding photography. I've been feeling a bit unfocused lately (no pun intended!) and so I especially appreciated his first blog post of the year, "10 Upgrades for 2019".

It's not what you think. David's 10 upgrades have nothing to do with gear. As he says:

Want better photographs? Of course you do. We all do. But it’s probably not our gear, or lack of it, or how old it is, that’s standing in the way: it’s our excuses and lack of creativity.

Make this the year you never once blame the camera. Make it the year you embrace whatever constraints the gear (or life) presents you with, and then get to work. Work around it or work with it. But work.

The gear you have is enough and probably will be for quite some time. Upgrade the photographer instead. It’ll be cheaper, less frustrating, and here’s what matters: it’ll be the one upgrade that changes both your experience of photographing and the photographs themselves.

Instead of talking about gear, David's 10 upgrades are about "upgrading the photographer" and making changes that will improve your photography regardless of what you are using. Ten upgrades may be a long list but the key, he says, is to pick one and enjoy the "freedom of doing that" instead of panicking about whether you need something bigger or faster or newer.

Ah, these were words I needed to hear. I'm not yet sure which upgrade I will focus on but I'm looking forward a new challenge. Thanks, David!

To read the original blog post, visit David's website (the link is below). He offers many useful resources for photographers as well.

All the best with your upgrading in 2019! (^.~)/

David DuChemin hompage: https://davidduchemin.com/
10 Upgrades for 2019: https://davidduchemin.com/2019/01/10-upgrades-for-2019/
(The image below is from David's blog post.)

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"All the Light we can get"

7/22/2018

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After my previous blog post, I was feeling a bit discouraged. Then, by chance, a piece written by David duChemin, an amazing photographer based in Victoria, BC, Canada, showed up in my inbox. I subscribe to his newsletter and this particular piece couldn't have been more timely.

Here are a few quotes:

" We do not give our gift - whatever it is - into the world - to validate us, to tell the world how good, how bright, talented, or relevant, we are. We give it as a gift. And, as is so often the case with a gift, we do not know how the recipient will receive it. "

"There is no surer way to stagnate as an artist than to do it for the reward, or to hold back from putting it out there for fear of never getting one."

"'But who am I to put my art into the world?' I have no idea. Yet. And neither do you. It's only in the making of that art, whatever it is, and putting it out there, that you and I will find out."

I will be re-reading this on a regular basis. Such wise, wise words. Thank you, David!

(If this resonates with you in any way, then I highly recommend reading the original article on David's blog. Oh, and while visiting his site, check out his resources for photographers. He has some very helpful e-books.)

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The Tension between Creativity and Efficiency

"10 Upgrades for 2019"

"All the Light we can get"

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