I like the idea of “creating”. I don’t do it often enough, and I’m always thinking about how I can encourage myself to do it more. Fostering the habit of creating is difficult, but at least I’m thinking about it.
Lately, I thought about two of my “creative” hobbies, photography and music, and their differences to me. They’re both in the realm of creating but they do different things for me.
Photography is more about capturing and conveying an environment or experience of that environment. A photo looking straight up a skyscraper from the ground can convey a feeling of anxiety or uneasiness that it towers over you. That’s where the “creative” aspect of photography happens, because the same photo taken or processed differently could also convey a feeling of grandeur or awe. With photography, you can choose to document reality or offer an interpretation it. I think I’m more interested in offering an interpretation, and those are the photos I find most interesting or special.
Music is similar, but it offers a different way to express it. There, I can use words that can convey more explicitly something going on inside of me or experiences I’ve had. The music itself can tap into and interpret emotions that I can’t put into words. It can sound happy or sad and everything in between, and the lyrics can complement or oppose it, creating synergy or irony.
Both mediums have a “collection” period. I usually go out and take photos without really knowing what exactly they’ll become when I sift through them at home. I might have vague ideas, or confidence in an interesting composition or activity I captured.