As photographers, grabbing the next bit of inspiration to excel at your art is what all of us keep hunting for. What would make me see things clearer? What would make me see a different perspective to a scenarios? How do I be more present? Will I be able to create something new today, if not epic. Just something new... These are the questions, we ask ourselves almost before every major assignment.
All of us have our ways of dealing with these personal creative ramblings; my solutions pretty much revolve around trying a new genre of photography for a while. Want to learn something new, try doing something new.
Being more present is a personal creative vendetta for me. And being a parent to one bazooka of a child, I pretty much have realized this first hand; that there is no one more present than kids. Kids simplify things because life rules a pretty simple for them - want something, cry your lungs out. Like something, chase it hearts out. As much as life is simple for them, raising them as parents is not an easy task!
It's hard work that involves being a master juggler. I won't get into the details of what hardships parents go through (probably would be a next blog post) but what I would emphasize on is to have a record of this relationship, that might be forgotten 30 years later and perhaps give them a chance to reflect upon it; when the cycle perpetuates with a new generation of their own children.
What better a training could it be to learn how to be more 'present' !! Documenting stories for families to see how they do love. How they show and accept love. How self worth began by being valued as a child.