Earlier this week I visited Dilworth Mountain Park for some spring photography. While at home when I was editing the photos two photos specifically spoke to me - one about why I love photography and the other about creativity and Instagram.
Why I Love Photography
When I was walking along the trail I kept coming across these bushes that sometimes when the light hit it, it would make these buds glow golden and green. I stopped to take a photo of the bud and I just loved how it backlit the leaf, how you can see all of the veins and the pattern on the leaf.
This photo and moment was a beautiful reminder of why I love photography.
Photography gave me a whole new world, a whole new outlook on life and my environment. Before photography I didn’t admire the changing of the seasons, I might have noticed or loved the change but I never stood still and admired the change - how the landscape changes colour, how the weather changes, all the details that makeup the transition.
Question: You can answer over on my Instagram post or YouTube video but is there a photo (recent or not) that reminds you of why you love photography or got started?
Instagram and Creativity
This was another favourite image from my trip to Dilworth Mountain Park. My intention was ‘Goodnight Kelowna’ - with the sun setting behind the mountain range and the Kelowna valley underneath. But when I was editing this image I had it in a horizontal format and a vertical. In the past I would have chosen the vertical to edit because, it’s vertical for Instagram. However, about a month ago I watched a video by Chris Hau on how Instagram was killing creativity and how in his Lightroom Catalogue majority of his photos were vertical.
Vertical is suppose to “do best” in Instagram and with the algorithm but I decided to edit and publish the horizontal. Why? It fits better. It conveys and aligns with more of what I am trying to express and capture.
Yes, making these decisions could potentially hinder my growth or favor me less in the algorithm. But for the sake of my creativity and my photography I am choosing differently.
Final Thoughts
Feel free to respond to these questions over on my Instagram post or YouTube video but:
Question: Why do you love photography?
My Answer: I love photography for its world of possibility. For its creativity. For its gift to me that showed me a new perspective of life and my
environment. I love photography for its power to explore and express.
Question: Is there something specific that drives or inspires you?
My Answer: To explore the world. To capture a feeling, moment in time, or idea.
Question: Do you prefer working in a series or collection?
My Answer: I prefer working in a series or collection. For example, Chasing Fall, Characteristics of Kelowna, Hello Spring…I find working in a series gives
my photography focus.
Question: Do you feel social media influences your creative flow?
My Answer: Yes! Instagram, YouTube, social media does influence my creative flow. Sometimes for the better because it fuels me with ideas, inspiration,
value. Sometimes its for the worst because I compare, I get overwhelmed, I lose myself in the algorithm.
Happy Photographing!
Beautifully Wander | Robynne Ikesaka