Boredom Is A Creative Killer

Now you know what my work space looks like.   It's a messy office, probably similar to yours.  How could I possibly be creative in that environment?  

Well, first I thrive in chaos.  Second, I leave the chaos behind.

I love an adventure.  When my kids were young, it was easy to go on adventures.  A ride to the zoo, or to go apple picking at the farm.  Once they got older, their friends (or quite honestly the tv) became more fun than my adventures.  I got bored.  Boredom is a creative killer.  I had to do something.  So, I started going on my own adventures, camera in hand.

Within 45 miles and no more than hour away; It's for me!

I have a list on my phone of interesting botanical gardens, public gardens and nature walks.  I pay to go on photo walks and I have recently found an Instagram meet-up group called South Jersey Adventures.  Meet-ups are great, because although I like going on adventures, I occasionally feel very conspicuous when I am alone.  There IS power in numbers.

For instance I recently went back to a place I have brought my camera before, the Morven Museum in Princeton, NJ.  I have no interest in the museum, however they have an 18th century English garden, that appears to be open without actually paying admission.  I went there about a year ago and took some great shots of the flowers in the garden.  This time around, they were setting up a huge tent for an outdoor party and there were a lot of gardening fellows digging around, so I turned around and left.  I headed to the President's Garden at Princeton University, a spot I found on a photo walk I took through the Digital Photo Academy about 2 years ago.  Still felt a little conspicuous, but there weren't too many people around staring.

Taken at the Morven Museum

Once I am home again, I upload my images to Adobe Lightroom and then the fun begins.  I choose which photos I like and start processing them in Lightroom.  Then I move them in to Adobe Photoshop where I further work with them using a variety of filters and textures and layers.  I play and add layers upon layers until I get the desired masterpiece I am after (well, hardly a masterpiece, but come on it is fun to say).

Then time to share it with the world!

Some places I like to shoot are: Chanticleer Gardens, Jenkins Arboretum, Leaming's Run Garden, Longwood Gardens, Grounds For Sculpture, and Hortulus Farm.   I'm up for suggestions.