Some time ago I was feeling down because I felt like I had no gas in my creative tank. Sometimes, that happens because I have too many projects, so I get frozen in indecision. Other times, life just squeezes all the juice out of me. This time it was the latter.
So one day, as I was feeling sorry for myself, I was listening to an interview with George Carlin. I believe it was his last before his death. I’m not even sure I watched the whole thing. But something he said stuck in my head long after I had closed the video, and when that happens I tend to pay attention.
Carlin was talking about growing up listening to radio shows in the days before TV, and practicing doing his own radio performances and voices. The interviewer asked about this “hobby” and he was quick to correct them. He said (paraphrasing), “It was a pursuit. A hobby costs money. A pursuit you can do for free.”1
And that got me thinking about some of the hobbies that I’m interested in. For instance, I like building scale models. It used to be a fairly inexpensive hobby, with some automotive models costing only a few dollars. But when I decided to get back into it, I found that it has become far more expensive, with “cheap” models easily being in the $30 range and going up from there. Other hobbies (like woodworking) have astronomical costs when it comes to materials, not to mention tools.
In the software world they talk about making a MVP or minimally viable product. The app or software just needs to do enough to get traction. Improvements and features can happen later. So I looked at things in terms of “pursuits.” I decided to find a minimally creative project (MCP). Something that won’t cost extra money, but that allows me to have some creative outlet. Since I have a smartphone with a somewhat decent camera, I decided to try photography.
I don’t fancy myself the next Ansel Adams or anything. My intention isn’t even to display the work. Ninety-nine percent of the reason I decided on photos is that it makes you notice things. I set a goal for 1 picture a day. But it’s not just snapping a selfie or grabbing a shot of a sunset. I want it to catch my attention or capture a feeling. Light and shadow, or a strange twist of reflection, or some fractal detail in nature. If it reflects my mood, or grabs me enough that I feel the need to capture it, then it satisfies my MCP. There is no second guessing allowed. It doesn’t have to be good, meaningful, or have award-winning potential. There are three simple steps: 1) notice, then 2) notice that I noticed (that’s harder to do than you’d think), and then 3) capture.
I’ll admit I’ve been a little lazy with it. But the other aspect of the project is no recrimination. I am not allowed to self-censor. I cannot filter it or edit the final output (beyond cropping for framing purposes. And I am absolutely not allowed to criticize myself either for the subject/output, nor for forgetting to do it. Forgiveness is key, because I’m harder on myself than I need to be.
This is the first photo I took. Light and shadows. This is the shade of a work lamp pointed at the wall. I have weird lighting in my home office, so I use this for “splash” lighting when I have to be on video calls.
I can’t say that I’ve had any kind of breakthrough in creativity from doing this, but I do find myself noticing things more often.
- Correction: Mr. Carlin used the term “interests” not pursuits. Youtube source with timestamp: https://youtu.be/Nm4YnDl5hOk?t=642 ↩︎