Trying to stay motivated

Stagnation

Since my problematic trip to Bryce Canyon National Park (see my November 21, 2016 blog) I haven't been motivated to get out and shoot anything. I'm in a photographic doldrum.

I've been searching and reading on other sites for cures to this malaise regarding getting outside with my camera, and some of the tips have been okay. They just haven't been enough to push me back over the edge into getting out there.

Attempts at Overcoming

Photoshopped image of my dog Elmer
Wilcox Playa, Arizona

I have tried watching videos of photographing or hiking areas on YouTube or other services with the hope that they would spur me to visit the places or somewhere similar. One video was shot partially in the Utah salt flats and gave me a mild yearning to get back down to the Wilcox Playa in Arizona (near, surprisingly, Wilcox, Arizona).

I still think that area has some photos to offer if I was just a bit more creative. I saw a similar shot taken in a location like that with a sweating bottle of water or something as a foreground object with the expanse of the playa in the background. Plus, I like that area for some reason. It's the gateway to the Chiricahua National Monument which may be the attraction for me.

Last Friday, the day after Thanksgiving 2016, I worked. I woke up early, grabbed my camera and tripod, and got in to the high-rise that I work in on Central Avenue in Phoenix, Arizona. Since moving there this last summer I've been wanting to see if there were any photographic opportunities possible by shooting out of the windows. I work on the 23rd floor and also have access to the 16th and 19th floors.

Unfortunately there were not any good shots of the downtown high-rise buildings and the other buildings around mine didn't have many lights on. There just wasn't a shot that inspired me to even get my camera out of the bag. I even went down to the street to see if it would yield anything but I didn't like any shots there either. The only shot I envisioned at all was a long exposure with car tail lights but because it was a holiday day there wasn't much traffic. I gave up there too.

I've even tried flushing my mind. I've had dry spells before when I was writing and recording music and often the thing that got me rejuvenated was completely forgetting about music for a while. The time length varied, too. I'm trying to do that still with the photography but it's hard to forget about it.

Remedy?

Superstition Mountains

If nothing else inspires me before this next weekend, I'll at least try going out to the Superstition Mountains. Perhaps I'll even try staying in the Lost Dutchman State Park overnight.

That place usually offers some sort of photographic opportunities. And I still don't have any golden hour shots from Tortilla Flats which I think could offer something. Perhaps even Roosevelt Dam,

It's not that there aren't some photogenic locations pretty close to Phoenix, heck, I wouldn't even mind the drive back to Joshua Tree National Park.

I can't blame the scenery - I just need to get back out to it!