Episode 13 - Creative Momentum in Photography; Stoking that Fire
Audio:
Shownotes:
Actions from this episode:
Prep - What foundation do you need to lay to be successful?
Create Sparks - Use your unique perspective to dream up something that gets you excited.
Light the tinder - When you find excitement, lean into it. With excitement comes creativity.
Add some kindling - Once you’ve lit your fire, do the work that supports it in becoming a reality.
Stoke you fire - If your fire is going, keep at it. Success comes to those who don’t quit too early.
Build or sustain? - Decide on whether your fire is big enough or if you need to make it bigger. Remember there are other campfires in your life to tend to.
Keep it going, or let it go - Some fires will stay with us for a lifetime, while others we need to let them snuff out to make room for new ones.
Episode Cards:
DOWNLOAD, PIN & SHARE
Episode Transcript:
Matt Korinek: So this is awkward.
It’s been a while since my last episode. Too long. I dropped the ball.
Not only did I take a break, but I also stopped recording halfway through a 4-part series I’d been planning for months.
And I feel bad. Like I’ve let you down. I apologize if I have. I definitely let myself down.
Now, this episode isn’t just a mea culpa. Self-flagellation doesn’t help anyone.
It’s actually about creative momentum.
So if you’ve ever had a creative idea or plan that hasn’t quite worked out, let’s dive into what that really means, and how to relight that fire.
Hey, it’s Matt
And welcome to the Photo Proventure Vlogcast.
A place for photographers to get better, one action at a time.
Subscribe if that sounds like you, and let’s get into it.
Creative momentum is like a campfire. It begins with a spark.
As I was writing the last two episodes of the 4-part series , I was already thinking about the time that had passed since the last one.
Do I just ignore the time that’s passed since my last episode in the hopes that no one has noticed or cared?
But don’t I want people to notice? Don’t I want people to care?
And if I do address the “interruption”? How can I make this episode more valuable than a heartfelt apology?
According to my Evernote , the spark that started this vlogcast happened on December 29, 2019.
Those first few days were an inferno of ideas. I’d be trying to go to sleep and new ideas would be bursting out of nowhere. So downloading those ideas out of my brain, and into my notes, is the only way I can get to sleep at times like that.
I still have a list of 27 vlogcast ideas from that initial brainstorm that I’d still like to bring to life.
When my brain is in that mode, it seems like ideas are endless and that they all will pan out.
So, clearly, I’m delusional at that time. But there’s nothing quite like the energy that’s created at that time. It’s like there’s an internal motivation driving me that I can’t stop.
The tinder has lit kindling, but the initial inferno has died down. Now it’s time to tend the fire or else it might snuff out.
Most of my episodes work in this way. I have an idea. And that idea drives my initial motivation and I write like crazy. I usually get to somewhere to around 80% done. But then that last 20% is what I really struggle with.
My next episode about the little things that go into a great photoshoot was sitting for months, just waiting to be finished.
After my initial inferno of ideas for the vlogcast, it took me 4 months to get my first episode up. All that time I was tending to the fire, building it to the point where I could share it with others.
As I’m sure you can relate to, building something new takes a lot of time and effort.
Thinking about it. Planning for it. Doing it. Working on it. Tweaking it. Launching it. Sharing it. Reflecting on it and repeating.
And all of this under the specific constraints of your life.
For me, one of the major constraints is my full-time job. I’m not in a position at the moment where I can devote all of my time to this vlogcast. So I have to carve out time in my schedule to plan and execute an episode.
Now the interesting thing about constraints is that many of them self-inflicted. They’re called priorities.
The illusion that there’s a work/life balance to be found is something that I just don’t buy into anymore. There’s only life. And Choices. And each person’s balance is unique to them, and ideally should reflect their priorities and their values.
Perhaps each priority is like its own individual little campfire. And all of us may have many fires going at the same time, and we have to choose which ones to tend to.
And then there’s the stuff life just throws at you that’s more important than work. My mom passed away a few years ago and my dad has been on his own cancer journey for the past couple of years.
I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to spend some time with him and the rest of the family by taking a sabbatical away from work and from this vlogcast. I had been planning to work on the vlogcast at the same time, but found that it was more important to be present with him and them.
So along your journey, don’t forget to tend to your life. Life is not just about career or monetary success. At least not for me.
The fire may appear to be out. But if you look closely, the embers are still hot. It’s time to restart the fire.
Now anyone who’s had to restart a fire from embers knows that it’s a lot of work. Just as much, if not more than starting from scratch sometimes.
So looking back would it have been smarter to keep the fire going, instead of waiting until all I’m left with is embers? Probably.
But I also know from experience that some fires need to be extinguished.
I’ve had lots of ideas I’ve been excited about at first yet never executed. Some of those ideas have stuck with me, and I plan to do something about them. Others though, I've let them go, because either they weren’t the right idea, or it wasn’t the right time.
The things you’re passionate about are the fires will stay with you for a lifetime. There will be times you’ll start a fire, only to find out that you need to snuff it out to make room for a new one.
But instead of getting bogged down by “what ifs”, I’ve learned that it’s better to look forward while focusing on the now.
The way I do that is through self-forgiveness. I forgive myself for decisions that may have held me back in the past or led me down the wrong road because, at the time, that’s the best I could do with the information I had.
So I’m letting go of any regret I may have of leaving the vlogcast to dwindle over the past few months. Cause I’m back at work, juggling my job and making new episodes.
I have a new source of energy and I’m recommitting to what I’m trying to create here.
A place for photographers to get better, one action at a time.
Those of you campfire builders out there know that once the fire gets to a certain size, it becomes less work. It’s almost self-sustaining. Almost.
It sorta depends on whether or not you want the fire to keep growing, or if you’re happy with the size that it’s at. Creating an ever-growing fire takes an ever-growing supply of fuel and hard work.
I have so much respect for the creators out there who can both build and sustain their brands. I see how much work it is to run a tiny little Youtube Channel and podcast, and can only imagine how challenging it is to get to the point where things maybe get a little easier.
I went on a run of 12 episodes across 12 months. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with most of the Youtube creators and podcasters that put out regular content.
Most of the extraordinary people I admire have worked their butts off to get where they are. Not only do they have an innate talent, but they also put in the hard work.
Hard work is what allows talent to fully express itself and for people to achieve things others haven’t even dreamed of.
I’m pretty sure it was Gary Vee who’s said that the reason he focuses on hard work is that it’s the one thing he can control. No one can control how much innate talent they have, but everyone can control how much effort they put in.
If you’ve ever started a campfire yourself, you’ll have noticed that I missed a step at the very beginning. Prepping for the fire by finding a location, setting aside some time to plan, getting the tools, and gathering the materials. If you’re lucky, you’re blessed with good conditions, otherwise, you’ll maybe trying to start a fire in the rain. Possible, but waaaaay harder.
This episode came together in much the same way. After thinking about it for a couple of months, I woke up one morning and realized what I wanted to say. I realized that this is more than a story about how I dropped the ball, it’s a story about creative momentum.
And really all of my creative endeavours work like this. The 4 months between having the idea of this vlogcast and the first episode were spent prepping, planning and problem-solving. Because if you didn’t know this already, but being a photographer, or really a creative in any sense of the word is all about problem-solving.
So here are some things you can action between now and the next episode, depending on where you are in the fire-building process:
Prep - What foundation do you need to lay to be successful?
Create Sparks - Use your unique perspective to dream up something that gets you excited.
Light the tinder - When you find excitement, lean into it. With excitement comes creativity.
Add some kindling - Once you’ve lit your fire, do the work that supports it in becoming a reality.
Stoke you fire - If your fire is going, keep at it. Success comes to those who don’t quit too early.
Build or sustain? - Decide on whether your fire is big enough or if you need to make it bigger. Remember there are other campfires in your life to tend to.
Keep it going, or let it go - Some fires will stay with us for a lifetime, while others we need to let them snuff out to make room for new ones.
118 of you, as of today, have chosen to subscribe to this vlogcast.
This may be a very small number in the world of YouTube, but to me it’s significant.
It means that you, and 117 other people found something of value or interest in at least one of the episodes.
And so I’d love to hear from you. What is it that led you to subscribe? What would you like to see more of? Or what would you like to see less of?
I really do appreciate your support. I’ve always told myself that even if I can help one person take a step further on their journey into photography than all of this is worth it. So thank you.
And if you’re new to this channel, it would really help if you chose to subscribe, like and comment on the videos.
Knowing there’s someone on the other end getting some inspiration, value or even entertainment adds fuel to my fire.
So between now and the next episode, try one new thing, and get closer to the photographer you want to be.
