Creativity through Constraint

Get a cup of coffee – this is much longer than my other posts.

For the photographer, there is scarcely anything more daunting than entering the field without a direction for the photograph about to be captured. It is akin to the writer gazing upon the blank page in a journal or in the typewriter searching their soul for the word, phrase or thought that will guide the direction of the paragraphs and pages to follow. Similarly, it is like the painter staring down at the blank canvas waiting for inspiration to grab hold and spur on a direction to the brushstrokes.

At the start, we see something that makes us stop – something that conjures an emotion within ourselves. It could be happenstance, the random stop as we drive a car or the afternoon walk with no particular aim in mind. The random stop has now provided the first constraint to our work – the subject. This aligns with a homework assignment in my Introduction to photography class where students are asked to select a subject and make twenty-five images of the same subject – without duplicating any. This, for them, is the first introduction to Creativity through Constraint. They are forced to see the subject beyond what stands in front of them. It is a moment they are faced with cleverness, the seeds of artistic genius, imagination, ingenuity, inspiration, inventiveness, originality, resourcefulness, the discovery of their latent and innate talent as well as the emergence of their photographic vision.

Later in the class, they are given an introduction to ten basic composition techniques and how they are to be applied. Again, they are set out into the field to make twenty-five images of one subject. Using the ten composition styles – ten in landscape format (horizontal), ten in portrait format (vertical) and then five, where they combine two or more styles into one photograph.

During my own forty plus years as a working photographer, the starting point has been daunting, challenging and yet liberating all within the same fleeting moment. Each day, when on or not on assignment, that moment is faced. There is no secret sauce, there is no formula for an iconic image. If this were so, I would certainly have far more successful images than the random scribbling of thoughts in pencil, the mediocre images and the failures – cast from view by the delete button of the computer keyboard. My best images were sometimes born from not having the right lens, contrast filter or, in a time when I was working with film, not having color film with me – only monochrome. Out of perceived failure often came success. Out of a creative paralysis came my vision. The scarcity of resources ignited a creative spark from deep within.

It was an epiphany moment for me early on. The accidental limitations, whatever they were, forced me to deviate from my plans into unknown areas. They forced me to think differently and let creativity percolate between my ears. Fundamental to my own photographic experience, limitation became the catalyst urging me to explore new possibilities and delve deeper into story work for the ever-elusive core. Creative constraint offered me avenues for both discovery and growth.

Working in a newsroom meant this was a daily event! I was limited to just what I had in the camera bag and the film I could put the in pockets of my photo vest. I could not carry everything, but what I carried I had to know intimately. Lenses are arranged in specific positions in my camera bag, I knew each lens by feel. I practiced changing lenses and loading film with my eyes closed. The “Sunny 16” rule was my best friend for shooting from the hip. Rewinding film was done by feel – sometimes while running to follow the action – I had to leave the leader exposed to be faster in the darkroom before deadline.

It was not every time, but it happened enough, that there was a creative breakthrough in my work. I am an artist, not a Creative – that, for me, is the role of the editor. Using creative as an adjective for myself is, to say the least, difficult and uncomfortable. Creative expression, from where I sit, is a product of constraints, whether in tools at hand, time, location. Sometimes my own creative expression is influenced by the tangible and intangible burdens I am experiencing.

As an Artist, I see the image, the story and create a tangible piece of art from the moment – a Creative sees all of the pieces of art across many mediums and assembles them into a tangible cohesive experience for the viewer.

Standing, now in the tall grasses, in the sand or wherever the images take me – I close my eyes to listen for the wind, to feel the sun upon my skin, embrace the cold to, within my mind’s eye, see new perspectives, spark imagination and interpret the experience of that moment in time into a tangible image recorded by the camera.

After thousands of images recorded, I now enjoy operating within the self-imposed limitations, boundaries, confines and photographic ambit each time I step into the field, camera in hand. It seems that the more restrictions placed upon my work, the greater innovatively I am forced to “see” within the margins of my own photographic canvas.

So, what does this (Creativity through Constraint) really mean?

The constraints, whether self-imposed, accidental in nature or designed through an assignment, disrupt the habitual manner of capturing images. Most photographers will approach a scene in a tried-and-true method. They will rarely “push the edge of the envelop to its near breaking point. Constraints are to block the habitual ways art is approached. You must seek out and follow the unconventional routes to arrive at your creative destination. Travelling these paths, much like the 1915 Robert Frost Poem (which has been my favorite since days spent in a Catholic High School in Boston) – The Road Not Taken - can be the genesis of new, bold and unique ideas which could have lain longer dormant within the mind.

They say that necessity is the mother of all invention. Constraints will force problems arise and these will have to be solved through necessity. My constraints, to name just a couple, are:

Monochrome only, which to the color photographer presents first and foremost the predicament of how to convey depth without a color palette?

Utilization of the 1:1 format of the image. This strips away the dimensional advantage of the rectangular format – much the same way that monochrome strips away color to lay bare the bones and basic elements of the photograph (sharpness, tone and texture).
Just in these two constraints, problems are amplified within the borders of the image being captured. In turn, this will amplify the creativity of the photographer. The constraints will hyper focus your vision to make the most of the limited options presented. Revel in the unexpected insights and artistic breakthroughs. Let them flourish in the images.

The constraints will be the defining characteristics of the images produced. Success, however, is only partially based on the success of the images captured. How well the photographer adapts to the challenge of the constraint and transforms limitations into strengths will define the photographer. The constraints of the assignment will make these images recognizable and intriguing.

The constraints must have a result beyond the created art itself. The photographer is bound to constantly evaluate what has happened and what has been learned. After completing the assignment, reflect on the experience over a period of time. Has your vision been changed, what did you learn and did the limitations liberate you from the humdrum or routine creative process? Has the photographer’s own personal creative process found new depths within of creativity?

I was able to experience and celebrate the restraints placed upon my work for the short time I was on location. The limitations force me to “see” in new ways as I meet the challenges daily. Bruce Springsteen playing in my rented vehicle kept the creative juices – at least for me – flowing, percolating and distilling through the hours of the day.

Where is inspiration drawn from?

It varies – I work in several genres of photography and often to put myself into the mood I will put in a CD into the car stereo system and let it go from there. I have a selection and certain ones will set the tone – others may not for a period of time. I guess you could say that inspiration is spontaneous, but requires a seed, a spark or something to initiate the process. Inspiration will reflect the mood, the location – everything we are seeing and experiencing. It will make us see the light, feel the air and isolate us from the outside influences. I enjoy burying myself in the experience of capturing an image after savoring and reflecting upon the moment.

There is NO CONTROL over inspiration – sometimes it is a matter of turning over stones to find what does works.

In September of this year I drove to Wall, SD from Rapid City with my windows down. The wind, the scattered ranches and occasional abandoned homestead got me “into the mood” for the challenge laying before me. For this trip, I had chosen Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You Album to draw inspiration from – I turned it on, the music spoke to me as the grasses and scenic vistas unfolded before me – It took an hour or so, but I found the inspiration for my work.

The Six Elements of Establishing Photographic Constraint.

Constraints foster creativity. The more constraints imposed, the more the artist frees themself - liberates themselves and breathe in the pure air of creativity. The arbitrary constraint – whether one, two of a host of many, serve as a path to shed the humdrum and standard patterns of thought that cloud our vision. Vision in photography is not how we see the future – or even plan for it. It is how we see the stories worth telling, worth capturing and worth experiencing. It is the experience that must be processed separately from the image. Regardless of the subject – you are asking to be present, to be allowed to experience and to step into another world for a brief moment – and record it.

My creativity, therefore, is born from the small and narrow frame that I have restricted myself too. The smaller the opening I must fit through – the more meaningful and rewarding my work is. If I open the box wider and lessen the constraint, I lessen the strength of the resulting image. The more constraints imposed on my work as an artist, the more I free myself from the chains that bind.

In order to think outside of the box, one must first build the box! To ignite creativity in my own work, the spark has, as its genesis, six elements to define the box I will put myself into. I am provided with a multitude of options by selecting one or all of the elements. Then, within each element, the options can further diverge creating countless options for the artistic soul. By defining the “box” within which we will refine our vision, we begin the process of focusing the mind’s eye. The stronger you make the sides of the box, the stronger your creativity will be forced to flow and break through the confines.

Constraints 1 and 2: The first criteria could be as broad as a single location followed by a restriction of color palette. My choice here – Badlands National Park, SD and only in Monochrome

Constraints 3 and 4: Focusing on one theme or using a limitation in equipment round out the third and fourth elements. I chose to work with the Leica M monochrome Type 246 with the Leica Elmar 5cm f3.5 lens – the lens was made in 1946 to further challenge myself I opted to use only the hyperfocal focusing method

Constraint 5: With the basic elements penciled in on your piece of paper, now decide on format – horizontal or vertical perhaps. What about 3:4, 4:5, Panoramic, 16:9 or 16:10 – do you really push the edges of the envelope and turn to 1:1, where there is no dimensional advantage? 1:1 was chosen – to really constrain things
Constraint 6: Processing: I opted here to limit myself to a Lightroom preset for Kodak TMax 100, the darkroom tools of dodge and burn with a limit of 3 minutes to post process the image – Yes, I used my cellphone as a timer.

If you are interested – here is a link to the Badlands National Park Image Series location. Simply click o the image you would like to see larger, I hope you enjoy.