Creativity vs Art
Posted on 30. Jul, 2010 by admin in blog
Over the last few days, I had the chance to talk with a photographer friend of mine about creativity, art and many of the truisms that are tossed around in today’s culture regarding those two topics. It seems that some folks have the word ‘creative’ in a stranglehold – creativity is not a brand. You can’t trademark the affect art has on you, it’s too personal and subjective.
A high level of creativity does not equate someone as an artist, creativity only grants people the mental tools to turn an original idea into something – a product – which is usually not art. Art, as my friend so elegantly spoke – ‘grabs you by the balls’ – so in other words, art has an affect on you in a blunter and sometimes more painful way.
During this road trip conversation, which shifted between backpacking trips and truck parts, we had pretty much reached the conclusion that truisms sucked – such as fishing in the rain, sucks. Just in time too, because by then we had reached our shoot destination had taken off our philosopher fedoras and extinguished our ridiculously long filtered cigarettes.
No more time for thinking, there was work to be done.
Studying art does not make you any more creative than say, wearing a fedora. But what studying art can do is make you aware of what affects you and the techniques used to make this impression deep in your conscience.
For example, I’ve always been affected by van Gogh’s ‘The Sower’ since I first saw it reprinted on a greeting card given to me by my girlfriend’s sister, which still hangs in my office after many years.
Something about ‘The Sower’s’ clean composition, the straight lines that make up the form of unplowed wheat and the story that I place in the furrowed field has always appealed to me – or affected me in a more painful way.
Clean composition has always appealed to me. I’m not sure why really, maybe because I’m so scattered brained and the clean form of lines focus my eyes and thoughts. Yes, layering your work – especially in photography – makes your work more visually appealing but I’m not talking about being appealed by a visual. I’m talking about focusing my thoughts and emotions – the true value I see in the art that affects me.
Art is personal, man.
Shifting gears. I leave you not with a painting of dogs playing poker but an iPhone photo of my dog, Sophie.
Is this photo, art? The short answer points to no, but let’s not get personal here, do that in the comment section.
Cheers,
Nathan
@freshwatertweet
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Denver Flash Mob For Good
Posted on 05. Jun, 2010 by admin in blog
Go ahead and ask. What is a flash mob?
Wikipedia roughly defines a flash mob as, ‘a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and pointless act for a brief time, then quickly disperse.’
That sounds fun, but what if that flash mob assembles for something more meaningful?
Well, that would be a ‘Social Mob for Good’ which is designed to raise awareness for social agencies around the world.
Their Facebook page reads:
“The mission of #somob4good is to raise awareness for social service agencies around the world.
Most social service agencies suffer from lack of funding and therefore cannot or are limited in providing much needed support in the communities they serve. So, let’s give them an opportunity for awareness.”
Friday’s flash mob, in Denver, was to raise awarness for Work Options for Women who’s mission is to help impoverished women gain the skills and confidence they need to work their way out of poverty and become gainfully and permanently employed in the food service industry.
Cheers,
Nathan
@freshwatertweet
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Happy Earth Day!
Posted on 22. Apr, 2010 by admin in blog
Earth Day founder and creator, John McConnell, a 95-year-old Denver resident created the day to unite people around the world on behalf of peace and the environment.
A blurb from his bio reads:
Son of an independent evangelist, John McConnell was born in Davis City, Iowa on March 22, 1915. His interest in religion, science, and peace has resulted in a number of projects and personal efforts to relieve human suffering and promote the common good. His interest has been in understanding human potentials and in seeking solutions to the crucial problems facing civilization.
Happy Earth Day!
Cheers,
Nathan
The Narrative Matters.
Posted on 02. Mar, 2010 by admin in blog
Literary theory aside, a narrative is a story pieced together by words, music or pictures. Why a narrative matters, though, is harder to define.
I personally feel the narrative is the most important aspect of a photograph. If the photo does not tell some sort of story through mood, facial expression or background, then the photo has failed you (i.e., the business owner) in broadcasting your message or brand to potential clients or customers.
Your message and brand is your narrative, sure it’s hard to sum up a storytelling photograph in 140 characters – that is a good thing. A good storytelling image will keep the conversation flowing, because people can relate or will make some sort of connection to a piece of your narrative.
You’re not just advertising or marketing your brand, but you are telling your story through the narrative. The narrative does matter and photography is a vital and significant element that must be thoughtfully executed.
For example, let’s look at the atmospheric rise in photojournalistic wedding photography. The style is popular because the bride and groom want their story told. They understand that photography is an important part of the narrative.
It’s not popular because its cheap or easy, it’s popular because people are tired of being told what to see or feel when they look at an image. They want to look at the photograph and feel the flood of emotion. The photograph, in some cases, is the only slice of the story that pieces together the words, music and emotion from that specific narrative.
The narrative matters, so make your brand your own and see your vision through to the last pixel.
Cheers,
Nathan
SIA Day 3 – Gear Photos
Posted on 31. Jan, 2010 by admin in blog
The ski and snow sports world enjoys a unique culture of outdoor fun, healthy people and of course gear. Saturday was my geek out day for gear photos. I have a stack of dealer books almost 7 inches thick from only a few manufactures. They are filled with stunning images, specs and details that most gear heads would drool over.
As a photographer, I am drawn to the images used by these companies. Stellar work that documents the product in their natural habitat – outdoors and in the snow – and sometimes vertical, backwards or airborne. Some even call this type of imagery; ski porn. I can agree with that.
My mission assigned to me, was to take a few product line shots – a difficult task to stack up against the glossy dealer books. Here is a slideshow of just a few of the images, have fun at your last day of SIA. I plan to add more photos in a ‘wrap up’ gallery later this afternoon/evening.
Mouse over image for gallery navigation:
[showtime]
Cheers,
Nathan
Denver Beer Culture
Posted on 29. Jan, 2010 by admin in blog
Interesting, according to a recent article on denver.org, the mile high city brews more beer than any other city in the country.
That is good because I love beer, wine makes me tired and champagne costs too much. Beer is the perfect beverage to end a long day or enjoy with friends after skiing, biking, building a house, geeking out on Twitter all day … you get the point, its pretty much perfect for any occasion.
The complexity of beer and the variety of brewers has skyrocketed over the past few years and for that, we beer lovers are grateful.
When I first moved to Denver I noticed right away that my city likes to drink – but not drink like a college kid – but drink finely crafted microbrews to be enjoyed with a meal from one of the many fantastic restaurants.
The article has a great list that further details Denver’s microbrews and breweries – which got me think about a story I shot for ESCALA magazine, the official inflight magazine for Aeromexico a few months ago, regarding Denver’s beer culture.
Yes, I got to try the beer …. I really love my job and work!
Mouse over image for gallery navigation:
[showtime]
“There can’t be good living where there is not good drinking.” - Ben Franklin
Cheers,
Nathan
SIA Day 1
Posted on 28. Jan, 2010 by admin in blog
Today was the first official day of the SIA Snow Show in Denver and I’m sure it was fun – I would not know because I was walking around the convention center in a daze from a head cold that crept in sometime Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.
With still so much to see on Friday I’m truly looking forward to a good night’s sleep tonight and meeting some great folks. By the way, I created a SIA-2010 Twitter List if you’d like to check it out.
Mouse over image for gallery navigation:
[showtime]
Cheers,
Nathan
Twittering
Posted on 28. Jan, 2010 by admin in blog
Twitter. Twittering. Tweets.
Just a few years ago, while chatting up a client at a cocktail party or meeting over lunch, if you would have said any form of these three words they might have thought you a bit unbalanced.
“Check please.”
Honestly, it took me a bit to fully grasp the idea of social media as more than a place to re-up with old friends or college roommates. Social media to me means more than just sharing links, which I’m very good at, but to engage people that I would not normally have contact with. Social media as a whole has been pretty good to me. I get my message and photos out.
Freshwater Images was founded in March 2009. My first tweet through @freshwatertweet follows:
launching a new brand, company and creative direction all in the same day, might need some more coffee.
2:21 PM Mar 8th from web
While I still share lots of random links and self promote I also try to provide value to anyone and everyone. I try not to simply climb to top of a tall building and scream, “Here I am. Now pay attention to me.”
That example is like a car alarm. Why do people even use such an annoying device. No one listens anyway. I have never gotten up and said, “Wow, some dude’s car is getting stolen around the block. We should check it out.” Be honest, have you ever checked it out? I love my neighbors, but my neighbors also don’t have car alarms. I value my neighbors not having car alarms.
>Social media, in a way, works in the same function. A wise man, @tonyfelice, gave me the tip to provide value. It totally makes sense and he’s right.
What is the point if you don’t give something of value? You have such a small space to focus your words but an unlimited amount of ideas and thoughts that someone or many someone’s may build from or improve. The hope is that someone or those many someone’s will do the same with their limited amount of space and provide you with something of value.
Below is a word cloud of just a few days of Tweets. I’ve been experimenting with hashtags (shift+3) – small markers that include more information or metadata into your otherwise awesome Tweet. Say you work on an organic farm and Tweet between chores. A good example of using a hashtag would be:
Bright Ridge Farms is looking for some good ideas regarding #organic-farms and #organic-food for our next round table discussion.
There is no formula for being a genius social networker. Some may disagree with that statement, but what can be agreed on is that there are many known unknowns – as someone once said.
Your job is to figure out the known unknowns, for your company or brand, and Tweet with the Twitter you are given.
Cheers,
Nathan
(Author’s Note: This was previously posted on a former blog of mine. You can berate me in the comment section for recycling a post, if you feel the need.)
Be Social and Connect
