What is fun?
The last road trip of the season and a special message from Bodhi
Kids know how to have fun. I watch the kids that live in my building playing outside and it’s clear they know what fun is. Their games aren’t complicated; running, yelling, chasing each other—they have fun for hours!
Adults, on the other hand, need to be reminded to have fun. Sometimes it has to be scheduled on the calendar way in advance (is that even fun?). Hey, we’re adults now, fun isn’t part of the equation, right? Adulting isn’t supposed to be fun.
But fun is, well, fun. Don’t we all need more fun in our lives? To regain that sense of play? As artists, we definitely need fun. Sure, creating is fun, but why? Specifically, what aspects of the creative process are fun? I have some thoughts:
Discovery is fun.
Discovering new places, and new things in old places. Finding something new is always fun. Surprises are (often) fun. I think that’s part of what makes travel photography so enjoyable. To visit a new place and see it for the first time and capture what I see is exciting. It’s like being able to say to someone, “Hey, check this out! Isn’t it amazing?”
But what happens when we can’t go somewhere new? How do we continue finding things to inspire us? I think the trick to that is asking “What if?” What if I visit this location at a different time of day/year? What if I use different materials? What if I spend more time in this place than I normally would?
Expansion is fun.
Trying things beyond my comfort zone, and expanding photo subjects and experiences, is fun. Those that know me know that I’m not a huge “people person”—meaning I don’t usually take photos of people and when it comes to landscapes I either wait for the people to leave or take then out in Photoshop. During my last trip to the beach there were people everywhere and there was nothing I could do about that. In the case of the images below I liked having that human element and I intentionally created an image with people. They added something more to the iconic view; scale, and a story that other people could relate to.
Learning is fun.
Similar to expansion, learning is also fun. Technology always has something new for us to learn. The things we can do with Photoshop now, were things we could only dream of in the past. Some may see the use of things like Photoshop as ‘cheating’—I see it as a way to express myself differently in my work. I like learning to use technology because it enhances how I can express myself.
Learning can also include learning about the work other artists do. Seeing how others express themselves and how they present their art is fun. So is learning how others manage their art business.
Connection is fun.
Talking to others that speak ‘art’ is so much fun. To regular humans, artists can be difficult to understand. But when artists get together we get it. We know! Through that bond we inspire each other to keep creating to keep doing the work even when we don’t feel like it.
What about you? What do you consider fun? How do you make space for fun in your life? And in your art?
And now for a special message from my Director of Sales:
Bodhi is very excited (no, really) to let you know that there are a lot of new images in my shop. My new work includes our recent trips to the beach and forest, and a lot of other beautiful locations.
Photography is a great, and affordable, way to add art to your walls and enhance your space. The holidays will be here soon so what better time to freshen up the guest room or the entryway and welcome your guests into a place that is beautiful and inviting. Here’s a link to where you can shop my images. If you need help finding something contact me and I will be happy to help!
Thank you for reading Photographs and Stories!
Reading, making art, being outside, petting other people's dogs...my ideas of fun! And yes, we adults need to do better about having fun. We are far too serious these days.
All of those are my kind of fun too!