(after the break) explore

Spring’s out! Inspiration is out there waiting for you as new things come to be. Perhaps you know the area around where you live very well… or like me – not. Either way, there’s plenty to explore and if you find a fun way to do it it will make you much more productive too.

I’ve just recently re-discovered cycling and together with some gadgets made it one of the most inspiring moment of my day. I’ll keep it very simple. Here’s what I do:

• Get on the bicycle and start the GPS tracking on my phone
• Get lost way out there (think 2hrs of cycling at high pace)
• Soak in what I see in the environment
• When I’m done I look myself up on the map, go back home and look at my GPS track

Now, there’s plenty of other ways to do what I’ve described – pick whatever works best for you. The main point for me is to do something relaxing (well, mentally at least) and find new places, things, people around you. You don’t necessarily have to note everything down, but I’m sure if you go on an exploration trip a couple of times this month you’ll have found yourself a dozen of new shooting environments, things you hadn’t yet noticed about the culture around you and who knows, maybe even a new hobby.

I used to cycle before with my camera but for a while I’ve put this aside (in the worst case scenario – I have a camera on my phone). I’m utilizing my first impressions and the recorded GPS track to go back to the places I liked best. As for the rest of the inspiration – I put it down on my trustworthy Rhodia dotPad.

I’ve found that bombarding myself with new impressions is like an energy drink for creativity. Very much welcome, especially after my long break. You could do photography walks, you could use whatever other means of transportation – as long as you meet the unknown around you it’s all going to be very useful. More of this is better.

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