Reflections on creativity: a photographic journey to enlightenment
Creativity is a frustrating mistress. She can strike at any time. From anywhere. Often when you least expect it. It’s one of the most exasperating (but also wonderful) things about being a creative in an industry like ours. But can we do anything other than wait for the lightning bolt?
Of course, there are plenty of ways we can get our brains into ‘ready to receive’ mode more. Creativity can be stimulated by getting into better habits – it’s a muscle that should be regularly exercised after all. Like going to exhibitions. Attending webinars. Painting, cooking, reading, learning. But everyone’s different. Everyone sparks at different things.
At Purple, we’ve got an annual pot for each person in the company that encourages them to go out and get inspired, their way. It’s called the Fascination Fund. It’s not a bar tab. Or a cinema ticket. Or entry to a football match. It’s got to be more creatively enriching and stimulating than that. Doing things that get our right brains lighting up more.
Designer extraordinaire, Dave Walker definitely stepped out of his creative comfort zone recently. As an art director and designer, he’s been fascinated by photography for forever. He works with images all day. He retouches. He talks to photographers. He mocks-up ideas. He’s an amateur photographer. He understands the emotional power an image can convey in the right setting.
He used his Fascination Fund to attend a Neon Nights street photography masterclass in London’s West End hosted by Bal Bhatla (aka Mr Whisper), who’s a Fuji Film Global Ambassador, and Peter Kalnbach (aka Street Nomad). It was a chance to get him thinking about imagery in a new way, experimenting and learning new camera techniques – a creative enlightenment.
On the night, the masterclass revolved around the creative use of light – with Bal on hand offering constant advice and walking the team around potential locations where they concentrated on different key principles over the four hours:
Wandering around Soho, the class focused on using neon signs to explore how backlighting interacts with subjects, creating silhouettes.
“We were in Old Compton Street using the old adult neon signs as a backdrop, waiting for people to walk past and create new compositions. It was really interesting trying to use the everyday in a new way – seeing how light interacted with my subjects.”
The class then looked for abstract and textural elements created by light, like shooting through the steamy windows of restaurants in China town.
“I had to confront my own personal fear of pushing a lens into someone’s face behind a window. I felt completely out of my comfort zone but in reality, people weren’t that bothered and I managed to capture some really cool Saul Leiter-type images of condensation on the hot windows.”
A short walk to the impressive neon signs of ‘Moulin Rouge’ at the Piccadilly Theatre, Bal explained how light reflections can be used as a key component in an image. The team searched for relevant surfaces in the streets, getting non-obvious reflections off car metals, puddles, pavements, windows etc.
“I learnt that sometimes the focus doesn’t need to be the focus. Light can add complexity and drama, a whole other layer coming from beyond the image itself.”
Finally, they headed to the giant lightboxes of Piccadilly Circus. Always busy, it was both a challenge and an opportunity, with Bal explaining how to pick out the unsuspecting gazes of passing bus commuters with so much beautiful neon light coming from all directions.
“In such a chaotic place, I felt totally overwhelmed by the crowds, not knowing where to point my lens. I tried to pick out and isolate my subjects using the light and shadow to frame and draw the eye away from all the passing distractions.”
The masterclass was a success. Dave was buzzing and reinvigorated, sharing his experiences with the rest of the Purple studio. It cemented his passion for photography, opened his mind to seeing normal in a new way and ultimately upped his creativity and curiosity.
What would you do, learn or experience to keep your creativity at its peak?
Bal Bhatla
YT: www.youtube.com/channel/UCYfKX1HDbdRwWrxlFtVD6OA
IG: @MrWhisper
Peter Kalnbach
IG: @street.nomad_
Dave Walker