Just A Man With A Camera

I feel stuck, and I feel like this has been a long winter. Spring really can't kick into gear fast enough. My wife and I may have gone on a nice warm vacation in January, but mentally and creatively I have just been feeling stuck, isolated, and like I have been cooped up in the house for too long. I'm just not sure how else to describe it.  It's not as thought I don't have things coming up that I'm not looking forward to.  Next month, I have a gig coming up shooting for an indy wrestling company. In May I will be a vendor at Popcon YXE and possibly the Regina Catherdral Village Arts Fest street fair, and I have a couple more later in the year lined up. So things are going to be happening, but creatively I feel like I have just been in a holding pattern for awhile.

Right now I feel like this stuck feeling is coming from the toy photography side of things. I have gotten to a point where I like my work, and I enjoy doing creative portraits of these figures. However, I feel like I need to take things to the next level with more dynamic and elaborate sets, and more creative setups. One of the problems is, I sit down at my desk and just get paralyzed not knowing what step to take next or where to even start. This isn't the first time this has happened to me, and not just regarding artistic projects but I've also experienced this with trying to start home repair projects or even just trying to come up with an exercise plan.

I recently read an article on Peta Pixel about photographer Chuck Eiler. He's creates some outstanding work in the realm of toy photography, and as the headline says, it looks cinematic.  Each image is a well thought out piece of art that tells a story of some kind. Not just a character posing, but a memorable concept that catches the eye. The article he states that he approaches every photograph with storytelling at the forefront. He doesn't just wing it (which is the trap that I feel like I have fallen into as of late), and before even starting the process, he makes sure he has a concept locked down.

I've read this article several times, and have come to the realization that I haven't been aproaching this problem in the correct way. I need to treat each photo not as just getting something done and churned out where I feel like I've "winged it". Instead I need to start treating each one as an individual art project. If I need to spend a weekend building a set or props, then I need to spend a weekend building a set and building props. Ideally, gradually those sets and props I accumulate will help to set up further projects and make them easier going forward and potentially make the process easier.  

The thing is, It's not like I haven't done this in the past, it just feels like I haven't done any of it lately and most of the attempts I have made at it have somewhat fallen flat for me and didn't turn out the way I was envisioning them. That being said, as I have been writting this, I came to realize I did have a piece turn out recently that perhaps I should be giving myself a little credit for. I came up with the idea of Vegita standing over a defeated foe (in this case Goku), crafted a crater out of foam(then let it sit unused for several months), found an appropriate background, and eventually followed through on it. It feels small and somewhat insignificant, maybe because it is a small not-so-elaborate setup. But it was does fit the criteria of what I'm trying to accomplish. I just wish I could push myself to expand on this further.

It has just been a struggle getting out this slump and breaking through the barrier that my mind has seemingly created for me.  It's about trying to find focus, locking in on an end goal and following through. So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to start at square one, make a list of the things I need to do, and just start crossing off that list until I have a completed project.  It may sound obvious and simple, but sometimes it's difficult to get your body and mind to start moving on those simple things. The plan is to start with building props and accumulating items that could fit in a the lab of a mad scientist. Starting with an idea for a photo I have involving the Universal Frankstein's Monster. It's also a potentially versatile set that in the future could stand in for an number of science labs or science fiction settings. Following that I have something in mind involving the Gillman from Creature from the Black Lagoon, but one thing at a time. What I don't want to do is get too gung ho about making more elaborate sets and then be back at square one, because I didn't end up actually seeing any individual project all the way through.