Dreaming.In.Reality

today…. creativity and what challenges you. To me, both of those things depends on the person, the time of day, the moment, the project.. it’s subjective.

subjective: adj.

1. Proceeding from or taking place in a person’s mind rather than the external world: a subjective decision.
2. Expressing or bringing into prominence the individuality of the artist or author.

Now… Most of you all know I participate in weekly photography Themes. With the new year, some are reevaluating user feedback, trying to improve on certain items etc.. make lives easier yes? Well a suggestion for one of the themes, really got to me today and quite franky it pissed me off. This is where what is creative and challenging to an individual comes into play. This is the bit I included in my email, expressing my opinion of the suggestion that people “would no longer like pictures of pets to be allowed for submission” because “doesn’t allow people to think outside of their comfortable boxes to expand their creative horizons”.

Honestly I have problems with saying no more pet pictures because first and foremost it’s extremely selfish to say people cannot photograph what usually is one of their favourite subjects. Then, what defines pet? A pet can be any kind of animal.. I could go take a picture of my horse galloping carefree through his corral.. but yet, even though it’s a beautiful image, I can’t use it for TT because it’s my pet? What about a parrot? It may have been taken in a zoo, but then again it could have been taken in my living room. People photograph their pets because they adore them, much like if they have children. Should we include no children in the rules because taking a snapshot of little Suzy playing in the backyard doesn’t challenge someone outside of the photographer’s sense of creativity? Creativity and challenge is subjective. What may be a boring and easy photograph say for myself to take, for the person next to me, who doesn’t have my experience; taking a photograph of Suzy in the sandbox or Fluffy sitting in the window could be the hardest thing in the world. Mainly for the fact that they are learning to convey the emotions they see/feel when Suzy discovers a bug next to her sandcastle, or the elegance of a sunbeam falling over Fluffy’s back from the late day sun. Limits should not be placed on what people find challenging or creative, because no one can honestly be the judge of that, other than the person behind the camera.