Completing these Sidelong images has given me some ideas on things to experiment with for the next body. I went out in the snow yesterday and shot a small test to check it’s validity. It worked quite well and gave an interesting result, but I will likely have to use faster equipment as it requires a higher frame rate per second.
Some time ago I had a project idea that involved surround video – the ability to simultaneously record video from all directions at once. I began gathering ideas and notes about equipment and processes to achieve this. Well much has changed since then and many surround video systems have been invented that would do the trick but for some reason I’ve never pursued the project further.
I have a feeling it was more the dream of inventing something new that was interesting rather than the using of the tool to create something with it. I’m not sure.
A corollary – there was a time when I lusted after the latest greatest gear. But I could never afford it and so I’d find ways to achieve my goals with what I had or could scrounge. In the end I got used to doing that and now having great gear while usually more enjoyable to use doesn’t matter so much to me.
It’s more interesting to get the idea going rather than dream about the best way to do it.
I had to step outside my warm padded cocoon of a studio to clear my head and think for a bit. It’s cold and rainy out there with the birds chirping and Queen street is packed with traffic. It’s good to get a different perspective from time to time.
I’ve been acting like this line of inquiry I’m engaged in about the city is uniquely interesting but really it’s not. It’s just an idea – one among many. I’m certain I’m not the first to think these thoughts or even to articulate them in this way. But I do bring my own unique perspective and I suppose that makes a difference in the end – however slight that might be.
Really all we can ever do is cast our ideas out into the world to see what others might think of them.
We spent this past weekend camping among the pines in the sandy dunes of the Pinery. It was great. The first long weekend of the year, warm gentle winds, the sounds of the trees and birds and the smell of the pines and warm earth. I really needed it. I really love camping at the Pinery almost as much as Bon Echo – its the sound of wind in the pines – my favourite sound.
While sitting by the fire on Saturday night listening to the trees sigh, I got to thinking creatively and came up with a new idea for a body of work, a decision for my back catalog and a promising method for separating the Light Signatures images into translucent layers. I was stoked. Unfortunately I had to wait until today to get down and try it all out. They’re promising ideas but after experimenting with them they’re not quite what I had in mind – not just yet. It’s going to take more work to crack the code on these ones.
I prefer to work in mad scientist mode – have a crazy left brain, lateral idea and then immediately get down and try it out – working all night if I have to. Sadly, that way of working is hard to achieve right now. Too many regularly timed responsibilities – I can’t just veer off course at random for extended periods – although those can be the most exciting and productive times for me. I’ve had to formalize my exploration time and keep the ideas afloat in my mind in between, even though they can fade with time. But I still have the ideas – which is good.
I’ve begun to think differently too about what I’m doing. In retrospect it seems I was thinking this way leading up to 2002 when I was in the thick of making the Metro Motion and the Majesty series. Since then I became over focused on money and the business side of my practice. But when it comes to the business, I know now what I have to do and so I can just do it – which means I can shift the focus of my thoughts back to the artistry. Feels good.
Exciting times ahead – can’t wait to show you the fruits.