Imagination is the most powerful asset you have, it’s not the camera or the lens, it’s your imagination, because that is where everything comes from. all creativity comes from imagination, so you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that if you use your imagination in photography or anything else you do in life, you will produce the best you have to offer.
So lets talk about imagination, what is imagination?
Imagination is the ability every human has to see in there minds eye anything he or she wants, you can create a completely new world in your mind with all types of people, you can create machines that you can later recreate in the real world, and you can make photos in your mind that you can later recreate in the real world. Imagination has always been the engine that has driven the creativity of humans, so if you are not using your imagination to build the world you dream off then you are wasting your potential.
There is no greater pleasure than to bring something you have imagined in your mind and recreated in the real world.
When i started taking photos back in the 60s i got frustrated very quickly because i could not make the photos do what i wanted them to be, i got frustrated because i had very little control of what i was aiming my camera at, so i started to experiment in the darkroom, but still was not happy with what i got, it was not until the digital era came by that i found enough control in order to give my photos my own touch of imagination, i began to feel happy with what i had produced , and i was happy because i made the photos, i not only took the photos but i made them, in some cases i made the final image out of 5 photos taken at different times and places, i used photoshop, and topaz labs, and Lightroom to get what i wanted, i got some criticism from some people because they told me that my photos did not reflect the real world, and i told them that is exactly what i wanted, i wanted to reflect my world not the real world, hey , i told them, if Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas can do it why can’t i.
There are a lot of people creating fantasy worlds in books and movies why not in photography.
My approach to creating fantasy worlds in photography is that i harvest images from different places and then i blend them into one image in which i create a new image with the combination of those images, and i am not even considering if it’s technically correct, the only parameter i am considering is if “IT FEELS GOOD TO ME” if i am satisfied with the final image, if i am satisfied that’s all i need, if other humans approve or disapprove it does not matter.
You can admire some of my imaginary photos following this link to the page
