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Hey friends, There is a quote by Miles Davis that has been looping through my mind lately: "Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.”
I’ve found comfort in this reminder of how creativity works. We live in a world that celebrates the highlight reels shared on Instagram, making it look like everyone instantly knows exactly who they are and what they are creating. It completely hides the messy, slow middle parts that it takes to find your creative self. But finding your own voice is a slow process. It requires making a lot of photographs that never leave your computer, a lot of quiet, mundane practice, and a whole lot of patience. The truth is that creating consistently moves you out of your head and into your hands. When you pick up your camera after a break, there is always a frustrating gap between the vision in your mind and what shows up on your screen. But staying with the practice builds creative stamina. It exhausts the obvious choices, silences the loud technical overthinking, and lowers the stakes so an ugly photo doesn't matter. It is all just practice. Lately, my own version of this play has been carrying my tiny point and shoot digicam in my purse. I’ve been leaning into its small size to capture ordinary, everyday moments. There is no pressure with it. It allows me to focus entirely on the feeling of the moment rather than the perfection of the photograph. It has been a beautiful way to practice seeing without expectation. If you have been feeling disconnected from your creative spark, or like you are waiting for a grand wave of inspiration to hit, I want to invite you to just start playing again. You do not need perfect conditions, the best light, or a clear plan. The momentum we look for is always found in the doing, not in the waiting. A Few Ways to Practice Play:Work past the first frame: Next time you find a subject, don't just take one picture and walk away. Force yourself to take ten different frames of that exact same thing. Change your height, get closer, and see what happens once the obvious ideas are out of the way. Shoot for the trash bin: Set a timer for ten minutes and take photos with the explicit goal of creating nothing beautiful. Take blurry photos, weird crops, or messy compositions. Removing the expectation of a good result completely changes how it feels to hold your lens. Keep the camera out in reach: Leave your camera on the kitchen table or right in your purse. Reducing the friction it takes to get the camera to your eye makes you much more likely to capture the quiet, ordinary moments.
Thank you for being part of this community, and for always making space for beauty, growth, and imperfection. What is one way you will give yourself permission to just create for the joy of creating? Hit reply and share it with me, I would love to hear from you. Smiles,
Jenny
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