Where Does Your Creativity Come From? by Darwin Wiggett

Darwin Wigget and I decided to write for each other’s blogs this month. We agreed on a topic, wrote our articles, and selected our images without even hinting to each other on how we were approaching the subject. I emailed him my article and ten images, he in turn did the same. This is his article-mine can be found on his blog. We are planning on working together on a single topic article every other month, so stay tuned. Our next posting will be at the beginning of August.

Truck © Darwin Wiggett

Some photographers seem to have an innate creativity; they view the world in a way that is novel and fresh and not contrived. Where does this creativity come from? Is it genetic? Or is it something we can buy in a bottle or from the local drug dealer? Why is it that some photographers are so clever with their vision while many of us just seem to produce the ‘same old, same old’ over and over again? Is there a magic pill or set of mental gymnastics that we can try to make us more creative, or is the answer something deeper? Here are my thoughts.

Dog © Darwin Wiggett

Boy © Darwin Wiggett

All the photographers and artists that I know who are extremely creative have a strong inner drive and motivating passion for what they do. They simply can’t help themselves—they are fueled to go! Galen Rowell has described this trait as the inner rat. The rat is a voracious creature residing in your gut that drives you out time after time to create new images. The rat is not stymied by suffering and leaving the comforts of home; in fact, it seems to grow stronger in the face of adversity. The rat propels nature and outdoor photographers to shoot at temperatures diving toward -40 degrees Celsius, to sit in blinds for 12 hours without food, and to make other people look at you and think you are mad. The rat makes you hang off cliffs, wade into alligator-infested waters, and sleep in a bivouac sac in a meadow full of hungry grizzly bears. In short, it is this inner, almost insane drive that seems like the predominant prerequisite to success as a creative being.

Boy © Darwin Wiggett

I believe we all have a hungry rat within us. Some people have a fat, satiated little rat that sits on the sofa with a TV remote and a bag of Cheetos while others have a gigantic, emaciated rat constantly looking for its next meal. The one factor that most suppresses the size of the rat is ego. The fear of being judged, rejected or ridiculed always keeps the inner rat tiny. The ‘fear to create’ is the biggest rat-trap of all. I see this situation a lot: people often have an inner drive to create yet are absolutely terrified to show the world their images. They are the lurkers on photo forums and the long time camera club members who never show their work. In short, their insecurities cage the rat and wither the rat’s desire. After awhile any creativity they have is lost in their insecurities.

Ice Waterfall © Darwin Wiggett

On the opposite end of the spectrum are the ego maniacs. Here the photographer wants to show the world his photos, show how clever and amazing he is. The real reason the photographer shoots is for public recognition, for ‘atta boys’ and pats on the back. This kind of photographer often does have a voice of his own and a rat pushing him to create but the rat has learned to feed on the junk food of life–accolades. It has become a junkie needing a constant injection of adoration. These junkie rats force the photographer to constantly post on every possible photo forum where they hang on to each and every comment, aggressively countering any post that is anything but complimentary. Soon the work of such a photographer becomes repetitive and stale. The photographer constantly tries to repeat past successes and the accolade-aholic rat stifles any further creative growth. Without accolades the photographer loses his passion and therefore his creativity.

Waterfall © Jay Goodrich

The truly creative photographers I know have a rat that drives them independent of their ego. These are self-confident people who create and are not afraid to share their works but also create for their own inner purposes and not for public adoration; they simply ‘shoot from the heart’ with little or no worries about how the outside world views their work. They are not arrogant about their work and processes and often are the people most willing to share their passion with others. Secrets have no place in their life-work. They shoot to please themselves and they create simply because they have to. And finally, they have learned to control the rat, they have learned balance and that life is richer than just their art and their expression. They let the rat lead when necessary but in the end are the master of the rodent.

Dog Apple © Darwin Wiggett

Dog © Darwin Wiggett

In summary, I believe ego is the biggest stumbling block in being truly creative. We all have passion, we all have an inner rat, and we can all be driven when we feel a connection. It is simply the fear to create and the need for recognition that kills our creativity. The photographer who is confident in themselves, and who lets her inner vision thrive will be a photographer who has a big, creative rat. On the other hand, if you constantly worry what others will think of your work, how you will be perceived, or how famous you will become, then you will likely lose any creativity you had—you are destined to kill your inner rat. If you shoot simply to please yourself and to satisfy an inner desire without regard to how the world will view your work, then you are on the path to true creativity.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 at 6:56 pm. It is filed under articles, photo OPinion² and tagged with article, artistic growth, creativity, Darwin Wiggett, defining, discovery, discussion, Guest Column Swap. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.