So it has been 6 months since I wrote my last blog. Time passes more quickly as each day goes by and before you know it winter is coming.
What have I been up to? Taking lots of photographs, starting a new job, travelling to new places, watching Game of Thrones - important things in life. Writing a blog takes time. You need material - stuff to write about. I need photographs. I like to have something that matches the blog content. I worry too much about the creativity instead of just letting it flow. Must try harder...
Autumn and winter tend to be more creative times for me. The light is so much better, sunrise is at a more reasonable time and most (sane) folk are not that interested in a cold sunset. The solitude suits me well so I do not worry about being alone, on a beach, watching the last light of the day seep from the sky.
Last week was spent in Singapore on business. I was astounded by the number of people taking photographs. I crossed the bridge to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and I was convinced that everybody was taking a photograph. There were quite a few selfie sticks in evidence (yuck!) and even more DSLRs (or other digital cameras) and there was I with my Hasselblad. Alone in the crowd.
I often wonder why there is a link between creativity and a slightly troubled mind. I think of Rothko and van Gogh and Kurt Cobain. Does one element feed the other? Rothko's work at the end revealed his mood. For me, it is probably the most beautiful period of his work but it can be painful to look at in that context. I'm not suggesting that I have a troubled mind but I often find that I seek solitude when photographing to remove all distractions. A bleak and melancholic landscape fills me with warmth and contentment. The beauty of nature is a truly powerful catharsis - a welcome escape from modern life.
I'm hoping that the drawing in of the days and the changing weather translates into a period of creativity and that I write on a more regular basis. I suppose that this time of year brings out opposite emotions for me than those who bemoan the cold and the dark. For example, I see beauty in the naked trees. In a sense I feel pity for them as they bare their souls to the wind and the rain and to me. In the words of W B Yeats, a terrible beauty is born at this time of year.
My minimalist soul cries out for snow. Like the incoming tide it conceals and reveals but it's reign is short. Snow has the ability to turn the entire landscape into a monochromatic wonderland. Using colour photography can accentuate the flecks of colour that survive the blanketing. Black and white photography really comes into its own though. Pierre Pelligrini's winter photography is truly amazing - so beautiful that it hurts my soul: http://www.pierrepellegrini.ch/Pierre_Pellegrini/Winter.html
So forgive me a little for my yearning for winter. If you enjoy reading my blogs and looking at my photographs then it could well be a very positive time of year.
Peace and light - Darren
Winter trees