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Written by Perry Correll
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Tuesday, 05 September 2006 |
 ALAS! I’ve got writer’s block!!! Whatever shall I do?
Wait a minute. I’m writing this now, so how can it be that I have writer’s block? Well, that just doesn’t make any sense…….OH! THAT’s right – it’s PHOTOGRAPHER’S BLOCK.
Whatever shall I do?
Honestly, I really am kind of “stuck” at the moment! Nothing is inspiring me. Nothing is motivating me. Nothing, I tell you, NOTHING comes to mind for the next shoot. I feel pathetic. After all, am I not a photographer? Do I not have a deep and abiding belief that we are all surrounded by subject matter in every walk of life? Why, the yearly calendar itself is poised on the brink of a glut of holidays and celebrations that should be a source of ideas that could go on forever. Micro stock photography is growing by leaps and bounds, so there are endless numbers of galleries to look at for inspiration. There are endless numbers of real professionals who participate in micro stock to teach, to critique, to advise!
Yet, here I sit. Perusing the galleries of those photographers who I would love to emulate – aware of the beauty that is in my own back yard – looking forward to baking that first pumpkin pie of the fall season – and still nothing comes to mind for the next shoot.
After all – how many stock photographs does the world need of a pumpkin pie? How many bees hovering around a flower can be captured and introduced to the world of micro stock? How many, I ask you, how many variations of an image of a handshake in front of a computer can the business community actually need?
So, what does it mean? Is the micro stock industry saturated? Have we reached critical mass? Shutterstock recently celebrated its one-millionth image on line. My goodness, who needs to sort through one million images to find the perfect “bee on a flower” photo for their greeting card business?
I must say that my sympathy goes out to designers at this point. There is such a thing as too many choices……
But I digress. (Which, incidentally, is an A-typical symptom of any sort of creative block. We go off on tangents. We ramble incoherently. We prattle on about nothing in particular. ANYTHING to avoid the reality that we just can’t think of the next shot.)
You are probably beginning to wonder exactly where I am going with this. Well, to be truthful, I am exorcising my own photographer’s block demons. In the process of doing that, I am also trying to tell you that you will – guaranteed – no matter who you are, no matter how professional you are – no matter how excellent you are – you WILL run into this from time to time.
Frustrating? Yep. End of the world? Nope.
Now, the concept that micro stock is, or may be, over-saturated, is a topic that very well may be worthy of discourse. In fact, I might introduce that topic on the forums here.
Yet, that topic is for another day. Today, I have a different mission. Today, I am here to tell you it’s ok to hit that roadblock. It’s ok to doubt what you’re doing. It’s ok to feel frustrated, and it’s ok to wonder about your heart and soul as a photographer. I am not trying to sound like some wise old sage here – I just know that it’s a natural cycle and that “this too shall pass”.
Relax. Go read a book. Watch a movie. Paint the kitchen. Clean the junk drawer. Trim the hedges. Go to the beach. Play chess. Whatever!
Mostly, though, don’t sweat it if you are not inspired to set up for that “never-before-angle” of a bee on a flower. Your favorite micro stock site probably has some version of that angle anyway!!
I, myself, am going to go make a pumpkin pie.
© 2006 Perry Correll [bio ]
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Last Updated ( Monday, 18 September 2006 )
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The Micro Shooter 
