Postcard 051 - Unclogging the Brain*
Over the last few weeks, and especially in the last few days, I’ve felt like my brain has become unclogged in a few arenas. This isn’t because of any magical moment or eureka experience that I’ve had, but because I’ve been doing more — playing more.
“When you stick on an old tap, it runs out muddy water for about a minute and then it starts flowing clean water… songwriting and doing gigs is like that.” - Ed Sheeran
I can’t find the actual video of that quote, but I hope you’ll trust me. It sums things up pretty well.
A few months back, a friend sent me an Instagram Reel of fashion photographer Lucas Possiede. In the reel, Lucas was holding a small camera in one hand and an off camera light in the other. It got me thinking about portable set ups for my own work, and influenced a lot of how I shot when I was in India as well as our recent STEAK event.
While I’ve been behind a camera for decades, I still feel pretty mediocre at using flashes, especially off camera. However parties feel like low risk arenas to try out new ideas (assuming you’re not being paid to photograph them) since the night feels like a blur and your photos can be too.
This play got me thinking more seriously about what it would look like to have a “real” party set up. Around the same time, a friend reached out and asked if I would be willing to shoot his pre-wedding party (we love serendipity). This fueled my thinking and resulted in me getting a hand grip and a new flash trigger, allowing me to construct the very professional set up you see in this photo.
While the wedding is months away, the set up sits on my desk, inviting me to play with it. Just like anyone with a new toy, I’m taking photos of the silliest things — my coffee cup, the broccoli I cut up for dinner last night, and myself in the bathroom.
But instead of judgement, I’m reminding myself that this play is necessary to unclog the pipes. The fact that I’m picking up the camera and using it gets me closer to more photos that I’ll take and revisit throughout the years. Playing with light will teach me to look at things differently and invite me to explore other configurations.
Where we see a silly bathroom selfie, we also should see a person who is embracing play and nourishing a side of himself that can only be fueled through doing.
So go, play. It may not make sense at first. It may not even feel useful. But it’s probably getting you closer to the ways of being that (will) really matter for you.
(The * in the title is thanks to my recognition that the prior postcard was labeled incorrectly. This is the real Postcard 051.)