“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.” – George Bernard Shaw
Emily and I were walking to the location for this shoot and talking about using stock images. I think that stock images are super awesome and I sort of envy the talent of those who really know how to work them masterfully, but for my art personally, I don’t like to use them. There’s this sort of shot-envy I get when I didn’t take the photograph myself – I feel like I sort of cheated myself out of the adventure of getting that photograph. So, I like to take all my images, my textures, my stock myself.
A couple of years ago, I probably would have told you that I didn’t shoot more because I didn’t have any good locations to shoot (and pretty stubborn about not using stock). I live in the city, in a pretty populated area with lots of buildings and cars. But, I also live near the edge of the city. I have a field in my “back yard” so to speak. I have a teeny tiny strip of pavement that other people in my apartment complex park on, but that generally doesn’t have a lot of traffic on it. I have a spare bedroom. There’s a forest in the city, just a one hour bus ride away. The truth isn’t that I didn’t have anywhere to shoot, but that I lacked the imagination to use what I had.
Imagination is such a powerful tool, and that’s what I really want to tell people with this Downgraded series – that your potential really is unlimited if you use your imagination. It doesn’t matter what tools you have (or don’t have). It doesn’t matter if you don’t live around the most cinematic locations known to man. If you really put it to work, you can create amazing things and you can always grow and become a better artist. We have to always keep our minds open to the possibilities.
I get really excited when I think about progress because I know that no matter where I am now, I will always have a way to become a better artist. It takes time and dedication, but it is so worth it.
What have you learned that you’re proud of? What challenges have you felt yourself facing that you’ve overcome?
And (as per usual) here’s a speed edit to go along with this post!
Xcetera Photography 
The before and after shots are fascinating. So these are manips using your own images.
Yes! Every photo I post is done using all images I’ve taken myself. There are a handful of exceptions from a handful of pieces where I used a texture or birds from free stock, but from previous years and I’ve since stopped using them.