FEAR AND CREATIVITY
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- Опубликовано: 26 июл 2024
- Fear is probably the biggest roadblock in photography or any other creative medium. Fear is what keeps us from pursuing our goals and our dreams. We all have fears but creative fears usually relate to our own self confidence and at the core our own egos.
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Ted Forbes
The Art of Photography
2830 S. Hulen, Studio 133
Fort Worth, TX 76109
USA
My name is Ted Forbes and I make videos about photography. I’ve been making photographs most of my life and I have a tremendously deep passion for photography that I want to share with you on RUclips.
The Art of Photography is my channel and I produce photography videos to provide a 360 degree look into the world of making images. We all want to get better so lets do this together!
I make videos covering famous photographers, photography techniques, composition, the history of photography and much more.
I also have a strong community of photographers who watch the show and we frequently do social media challenges for photographers to submit their own work. I feature the best and most interesting on the show when we do these so come check it out and get involved! 
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I'm not just first, I'm here to endorse this 100%. You have totally encapsulated this topic completely on point in under 10 minutes sir :)
Thanks Brian ;-)
As a kid, and even grown up I often didn't feel excepted. I felt different. Now at the age of 51 I've finally come to a point where it doesn't bother me that much anymore. I don't want to be mainstream. What helped me a lot was trying out different hobbies. Some of them are quite unique. I'm not perfect in any of them. But through them I can express my feelings and emotions. And I have gained much more self confidence.
This subtle fear also intrudes into the thoughts of creatives involved in the Sciences and Engineering
I think it's interesting that you didn't mention socio-economic conditioning as a potential cause of fear or anxiety in the artist. Particularly, the outside stressors of parents, kin, and teachers looking at art as a foolish preoccupation when to them the most important consideration is putting food on the table. For the lower-middle class to impoverished, art can be seen as a liability, and as an artist growing up in that environment it must be doubly difficult to fight against the barrier of pragmatism on the way to self-expression. I was never poor, thank goodness, but I imagine that the thought of disappointing your immediate family with artistic pursuits, perhaps even being seen as selfish by them, must weigh heavily.
Wow, the power of vulnerability, your niece exemplified that by being brave telling you how she felt. That's what I call heart fearless. She's got an incredible future ahead of her. When I feel doubts when I'm shooting - I go to my heart and click the damn button anyway. When I go to my heart it keeps me in the moment and present and having fun. I'm taking a leap but that's what you and James Victore do in your own ways that I love. Love kindness and compassion have no bounds... that's what it's all about.
There's a line from Kendrick Lamar's new album that goes "what happens on earth stays on earth and I can't take these feelings with me so hopefully they disperse within fourteen tracks carried out over wax"
That line I think nicely elucidates a fear that creative people have: when I'm dead and gone will I be remembered as I truly was or will I somehow be seen as insincere?
When I was a kid I was always trying to fit in with the "cool kids" at school and almost everyone thought my taste in music, photography, movies and the things I liked to do were weird, now I embrace the things I enjoy and I've found out that those things are what makes me unique, your thoughts on this topic really helped me feel better about it, i guess it's not about fitting in, it's about finding people who accepts you as who you are and doing the things you want, thank you :)
This should be taught in every school and every human on this world needs to hear this! Thank you Ted!
Great video… FEAR: False Evidence Appearing Real. Right now, I'm at the mental crossroads where creativity meets production. Some things we consider to be Creative, are really just production, or reproduction dressed up in the clothes of Creativity… or at least, that's what I tell myself.
Some days I don't feel very creative, and I'll do some work that I consider production, i.e. simple repetition, and someone who is unaware of this will see it and say: "Woah, that's sooooo Creative!…" I just keep quiet and smile, but deep down i know the truth.
Which leads me onto the next point; when I was coming up, in my circles, to be labelled: "Creative" was a euphemism for being a good liar. Maybe that's why I struggle with the label today. Just a thought…
Agreed - little secret I actually don't like the word. Mainly because its mis-directed so often. People use it to just describe something they like often times. No harm there but sometimes creative solutions don't come with much fanfare…
Being a senior citizen, and just being in photography for a couple of years, I am realizing that fear is definitely interfering with my creative venture. Thanks for the video. I know you made it 4 years ago, but it’s still making an impact on me.
A thing I wonder about re: changing direction and doing new stuff is how social media influences that. Like: I don't like to admit that I really like getting tons of likes on my Instagram posts, but... I do. And I know if I post a sunrise picture with some mountains, that'll get way more likes than posting something that I'm maybe not as comfortable or skilled at, or even something *I* want to do but that doesn't resonate with as many people as more conventional work would.
But I need to remind myself that the real joy of creativity isn't people's affirmation of your work -- I think there's a parallel between being called "weird" as a kid and not getting that huge bump of "likes". When I can focus on the joy that *doing the work* brings me, regardless of how it's received, I can make way more progress. But it's hard, and I worry that we're buying into systems that encourage *less* experimentation; to the extent we can be conscious of what those systems do we can fight against them.
Anyway thanks for another great video! Definitely made me think this morning.
Thanks for this comment! I feel exactly like you :) I was very surprised that other artist struggle with this absolutely similar kind of fear. I like the parallel that you drew with being called weird as a kid and the fear of uploading unconventional artwork on our online portfolios. What I think the danger of those how you called them "systems" is, is that we forget what we are really actually passionated about. The way we perceive feedback on our artwork online is unfortunately (It was hard to pay attention to that realisation) highly dissatisfying on a long term. I experienced that that particular dissatisfaction can lead us, the real artists within ourselves, the wrong way. And the more we go on that way the less passionated we get, the more we fit into what people want to see rather than what we deeply want to express. And then we develop the fears, the many fears of making no progress at all and that we may not reverse our approach to art anymore.
I believe that by making artist aware of that process, we would most likely change up the art world by a lot. We'd see more diversity and the individual itself would trust their own creative ideas on a long term.
I think we all think about this from time to time. I see the selection of the sunrise pic with the mountains as more production decision than a creative one. Instagram appears to demand a certain formula in order to get "likes"… if that is what you want, or if not having many is your fear.
It's nice to get "likes" but what is the point if it is really YOU doing the liking, by falling in-line with what is being demanded, rather than the viewer "Liking" your creative thought-process which is unique to you? Personally I would rather have a low number of unique "Likes" than a huuuuuge unrealistic number of "cliché image" likes. It's a hard one, and we all have to cross that bridge at some point methinks.
Totally agreed -- my point was mainly that you have to consciously make that choice, and (probably for some of us more than others) giving up the short-term dopamine rush of the "likes" is hard.
That quote at 6:59 struck a chord with me: and I'm so grateful for you Ted. And indeed, your friend. Love.
I love art. I love photography and writing because it's the only way I can express myself happily. Years and years of people calling me weird, I feel scared to write anything or show anything. I fear I'm not normal, I fear my image is not good, I fear people will not accept me and all the effort I put in will go to waste.
Agreed, Ted. You nailed it. In the US Army we embrace seven core concepts, called the Army Values. One of them is Personal Courage, and it is what you are talking about. We need the courage to call a model and ask her / him to pose for us. We need courage to shoot images and hang them on flickr, opening ourselves to ridicule and less-than-stellar comments. And we need courage to follow our passions when those around us object based on a number of criteria. In my own case, I had a number of people dissuade me from boudoir photography because they said it was smutty, dirty, or "pervy." You are absolutely right. We need to press on when those around us try to hold us back.
Hi Ted, Thanks for this post. I am not sports minded (something that in my culture is a very strong anomaly - Australian's are sports obsessed)! But I am creative, and I find this so important and fulfilling. When I returned to Photography after being long out of school, I found not only my creativity had been sparked, but also a wonderful community of creative people who inspire me every day. Thank you and everyone for welcoming me!
Ted,
This “fear” topic applies to any aspect of our life: Personal (what if my friend/s doesn’t like me this way?), work (what if my boss doesn’t like what I am doing?), relationship, etc. We tend to be afraid that others will not like/accept our new approach.
But reminding that the only constant is the change, we need to try out what is in our minds (which sometimes is not easy), considering factors that affects our life. Creativity implies change, it is creating (it is not there!) and with it, the risk that what we create might not be accepted by everybody, and sometimes, neither by ourselves. As you mentioned in one of your videos: Not every single thing I create (or picture I take) is at the level I want.
I enjoyed this video, encouraging to grow our creativity. Thanks.
You're insights on creativity and the fear that holds the leash are unreal. You're so well spoken and wise. Thank you so much for the video Ted. You rock.
While having a cup of coffee and listening to you talk, I've come to realize that my biggest fear is not being validated or accepted as someone who is actually good at their craft. I understand that we all have to start at the beginning, but at what point do you stop and ask yourself "Am I really any good at this?" "Am I representing this form of art in the best possible way?". Questions like these, along with self doubt are what hinders me from moving forward in any pursuit I may have an interest in. Most recently, it's my photography. Thanks again Ted, for shedding light on another important topic for any and all creatives. -Cheers.
Hey Ted!
I appreciate what you discussed from 8:30 thru 8:47. One notable exception to this in my genre would be Art Wolfe, who was pretty much exclusively a wildlife portrait photographer, and now rarely shoots wildlife anymore (at least not portrait style wildlife images). He has, as you say, "broadened his range" as his career progressed.
I think that as creatives, it is important to be true to ourselves. Art changed his style and his subject matter because his interests expanded; when he photographed wildlife, it was because wildlife was what fascinated him more than anything else on this earth! Over the years, he became interested not only in wildlife, but in the beautiful landscapes in which the wildlife lived. Then he became fascinated with the people and the cultures in many of the far-off places that he traveled to when he was searching for wildlife.
As Art's personal interests expanded, the scope of his subject matter expanded. This led to a change of photographic style, because the feelings that he has about landscapes and people and cultures are different than the feelings that he had about wildlife, and therefore he had different things to say about them. When one is trying to express different things through one's art, one's style will change in order to better accommodate these new expressions.
Art has experienced a lot of success with his new vision - a different type of success than he had when he photographed wildlife exclusively. But the main thing to learn from his career is that he has been true to himself by seeking out those things which he was most passionate about. If his passion had continued to be only wildlife, and he never got very fascinated with the landscapes and the cultures that he encountered, then the best thing for him to do would have been to continue photographing wildlife.
I think that this is a lesson that every photographer can learn from, regardless of what 'level' their photography is at. We should all be asking ourselves:
"What do I think are the coolest things on this earth?"
"Are these the things that are the primary focus of my creative endeavors?"
If the answer to the second question is, "no", then perhaps we should re-evaluate what we are photographing and why we are photographing it, and start thinking about how we can use photography to express those things that we are most passionate about.
Just discovered your channel last week and have been binge watching since. Thank you for all that you do
I do experience that creative fear a lot. But what helps me is the thinking that actually nobody cares about my work. And that means that I can do whatever I want because if I fail, no one will notice it. And if I succeed... well, lucky me :)
I get that point of view too, although I don't experience creative fear. In fact, while I like compliments and "likes" I secretly prefer silence, no response. "Likes" are as stressful as no likes. So I find it healthy to remove myself from the "like" scenario sometimes. I prefer silence, sharing the occasional picture, and mostly staying quiet. When I do that I find that occasionally I can put together an article or something that features my work; it's like out of the silence something emerges and what emerges I find satisfying.
one of my favorite quotes "with a little creativity, we can solve any problem"
That's a good quote
This is AMAZING and has seemingly fully encapsulated this entire topic in a relatable and oddly simple way! Please do more thing like this :D
Yes, I agree, a certain amount of fear is often seen as a motivating factor to success.
I gotta say Ted, you quickly became one of my biggest inspirations in a very short amount of time. I only discovered your channel a couple of weeks ago, keep up the amazing work!
I don't think there is anyone else on RUclips practicing "Photographic Psychotherapy", please keep it up, it's most enjoyable and very helpful, love your channel.
I enjoyed this. My favorite personality trait is my "impulsiveness." I've listed to a million people telling me to grow up or be less impulsive or think it's immature. No, it's what makes me creative and artistic and weird. I'll drive to Portland for a cup of coffee... and stop to take an amazing photo at a random off ramp
Yes. Yes yes yes. I'm currently in the midst of this. I sit with the "Photography Degree" looming over my thoughts while I try to play in the RUclips and Social Media Marketing realms. When I speak with people about wanting to move into a new full time job, they automatically go to "a friend of a friend says theres a photography job here". I think I've created my own problem though. I've kept my study and interest in those other fields quiet out of fear that others perceive them as not as good as my photography. How are they supposed to take the other fields of interest seriously if I don't communicate about them?
Thanks for starting this discussion Ted, it's a great one.
I like the way you think. You are informative, inspirational, and concise. I've watched about ten of your videos over the last month or so and I just now subscribed.
Oh yeah! Fear is a niggling little *b* -- it keeps me in my chair when I should be shooting, looking at my photos when I should be getting them out there. And yet, at age 60 I decided that it was time to call myself an artist. I had to stop saying, "I don't know if this is art" and change my tune to "This is art." (It might be bad art, but it is mine!) So, my comment is this: I wish there for a formula for figuring out how to overcome the fear, a way to set it aside, and I hope someone shares their ideas. On good days (or minutes), I "just do it" -- and that works. It's the 'not so good' days I need help with ... Thanks for bringing this up. Love your show. Deni
Thanks Deni
I personally enjoy going out and doing something different, not just with photography but life in general. That's how I discovered my love for photography. Recently, I have taken a job photographing high end items that are handcrafted. It's something completely different from what I usually do. I think that I just like a challenge and see what I can be capable of.
Your posts keep getting better all the time! I think as a creative, there is a constant war going on in your head (well, at least in mine) as to whether you should be doing some creative that you know other people will love or doing something creative that is different and pushes your boundaries further. Others may say, 'hey that is not what I thought you would do' and is not as great as last time. I think the first option, where you do things people will love, they call it 'finding your niche', 'you just need to find your niche', that means you need to find something that people will love and you can sell. A lot of people are happy with that. Your client/customer that's paying, can often be the deciding factor.
I'm not a kind of person who puts quotes on the wall (or anywhere for that matter), but this t-shirt sums up everything I need to understand right now.
This needs to be shown on the first day of school. Every year.
Ted, I've been an amateur photographer for most of my life from about eight years old to now, I'm thirty five. Thank you for these great videos. I'm really starting to appreciate your point of view on things. I was motivated last week to come up with my own 52 week conceptual photo challenge and I'm starting to have a blast with where it is taking me and the new ways that is challenging me.
In my first year of university I took a drawing class; I drew during life model sessions, which I really enjoyed. One day my teacher came up to see my drawing and said "You're afraid of faces?" I hadn't been drawing in the faces; everything else was there, from feet to genitals, without a second thought, but faces apparently scared me.
Sometimes we don't know what we're afraid of in creative pursuits; we might think it was just a lack of time or something, but leaving something until the last minute can point towards fear or nervousness, just like leaving studying for a nerve-racking exam until the last minute shows you're nervous about it.
It is difficult to be an individual in these times of having to conform with all this online affirmation. My attitude to creativity is simple it is my work if you happen to like what I do it is a bonus. I have never been scared to rock the creative status quo it keeps your thinking sharp pushing you to be more experimental. I am influenced by other peoples work but on a subconscious level, something I have only discover recently and explains a number of things in my image making process.
Thanks Ted for another good post. Over the last few month you have said somethings that I have been saying for years. It is nice to hear someone else say them out loud too.
Thank you Ted, your thoughts here are helpful to me. I've been struggling with moving forward on some ideas I have to change direction in my career. You just reinforced what I've been hesitant to admit (to myself).
As I listened to this I thought of Freud. He came up with a theory that the superego acts as a censor to the ego functions. Within the superego reside the "accepted" norms given to us by family and society. When we step from the path we have been given, the superego visits us with feelings of guilt and a fear of punishment. I think of a work of art as that which allows me to see that which I have never seen. My view of the world is enlarged. When we attempt to show something different, we stray from the path given to us by others. According to Freud, this is when the superego intercedes giving us the feelings of doubt and fear. You mentioned that, as adults, we attempt to redefine the path we travel in life. It's easier to do this later in life if for no other reason than perhaps because those who set the path for us are no longer around. Yes, abandoning fear does open us up to more freedom in our quest for creativity. But, what we must keep in mind is that along with the freedom to create is a need to have something worth creating. Regardless of our freedom to create, the act of creation, for me, seems somewhat empty if what I am saying does not resonate with reason and purpose. As to the modern attitude towards art and creativity, I refer to two books: Jose Ortega y Gassett's The Revolt of the Masses and Guy Debord's The Society of the Spectacle.
Being able to change your style is perhaps the mark of a truly creative person like say Picasso? Ted, please continue this. It is inspiring and helps to give more freedom to thinking.
You just gave me a nugget for a kids' story I am stuck in...thank you!! Somehow the character MUST be convinced to release her idea! Many thanks!
So true and so deep - we have to be weird in order to stuck out. A pity so few dare to be real individuals.
For me, fear becomes paralyzing when you love the activity too much and you aren't able to see a potencial failure as just a setback but as something that will ruin your chance at achieving something of preeminent importance to you - it's making the activity too precious. That is the most potent and dangerous type of fear and it often requires herculean efforts to overcome.
As a recommendation on this topic I'd suggest "Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking" by David Bayles. Galvanizing stuff.
Video is on point, Ted!
I love this episode...on top of my internal struggles, I am also a father of two little girls, I can relate a lot to this talk. My struggle since day one is trying to keep it clear that "fear" is something natural at certain steps and crossroads, but it shouldn't be a restraint. If anything it should be an indicator to dig even deeper and push harder to understand if this "fear" is actually legit in the first place, or it is just an external pressure that we make personal. Same goes with "creativity". I dislike it when people, although with good intention, say something in the vicinity of "your girl is creative"! As if there are kids out there with no creativity. You look around, and all kids are curious and creative, it is us the parents that in some way or another, mostly in good intentions and protection, gear them out of it in the name of discipline maybe, or better future, or better education...etc. Ok that was a long comment, better stop here :) , as always Ted, thanks for the great post, and for the opportunity to share my point of view.
I love how you talk about the stuff that really matters Ted - you're the best orator in the genre :D
Thanks Chris
This resonated so much with me! I have always been different, always been a little weird! I feel that this has propelled me forward as an adult (love that t-shirt). I am now a mumma of eight kids, that in itself makes my children different but the fact that many of them have my creative nature has also targeted them as a little odd....but I have made that a good thing from very young! I have promoted weird as good, given them the tools to deflect the negativity that comes from being outside societies scope of popular. I am so proud of their resilience and of the talent that has grown from that much younger than it did from me! I hope that creating that forcefield from young helps them follow their creative journies without having to conform (sorry for the long post I don't usually post lol)
Excellent format to present mail and share ideas. You're on the right track Ted. :)
Great video. Needed this. I have a really hard time starting, I have this grand vision in my head for my art and how it'll look but when I start working and making stuff, i get extremely self conscious and quit because it doesnt live up to that vision...The fear of not being perfect destroys my process.
lower expectations..just enjoy the process
you're not alone
When It's good enough, it's perfect!
Damn! Ted, your studio-lighting looks as crisp as kitkat! Very nice and calming to look at.
And as always: Great thought.
Yes, bang on. Excellent topic and points. By amazing coincidence I had a conversation with my partner about this very thing this morning -- the idea that the two us are self-described outsiders as adults, but we really wanted to fit in when we were kids. Eventually we were both forced to reconcile with the fact that we were "weird" and it's scary. But we are both creative people and weird is A Good Thing now. :)
I really enjoyed this one. The vulnerability that comes along with sincere art is a major pain in the ass.
Amen Ted! Amen. It is exactly where I am right now.
Perfect timing, wow. Thank you so much for this
True enough. But as always there are some points to be made that raise some other thoughts on fear also. For one, it can be argued that fear on itself is neither good nor bad. Its no more (or less) then a signal. A signal inside of you, in wich your mind or your stomach or where ever your feelings originate, try to tell you something. I will forgo the psycholochigal explanations concerning the how our subconsience is programmed to make us fear stuff. The point is as soon as you look upon fear as a signal, you give yourself a opportunitty to investigate the nature of the signal. And make a conscient desiscion not to act according your fear, but instead draw strength from it and go in a different direction then the beaten (ic safe) track.
One could even go a step further and argue that most of the time only when you detect some kind of fear associated with what ever you are trying to accomplish, something is really worth pursuing. Because only then there is much more to be gained. In this light fear can be seen not as a warnig for possible disaster and avoided at al cost but rather as a sign of potential.
And as a last thought on this; perhaps the least valued is the process of dealing with our fears itself. As you mentioned yourself Ted, a large part of our live is trying to undo the 'rules' we grew up with. It is this whole proces of getting uncomfortable with our own convictions, trying to shed them, not succeeding, trying again, feeling awkward, vulnerable etc. this is what is also is called growing. So fear might just be one of the greatest drivers of growth. Not to be feared but to be embraced ;-)
Regards
JP
Love your show, sorry for the typo's, English not my native tonque...
Great message today, thanks Ted!
Creative, interesting and important. Great video. Thanks for the wisdom and encouragement. Big fan of your work. Please keep it going. Cheers from NJ
Creativity requires one to be different in the way you think and live. Most people go to the same public schools, are taught the same things, and to not question so called experts. Peer pressure and fear of being alone make us desire acceptance. We believe in things we are taught to be true instead of experiencing them and knowing them to be true for ourselves. Being creative is not just thinking outside of the box but also living outside of the box.
I never thought of creativity as undoing the things you were tought as a kid. Its an awesome concept and very true for the formal part of beinf raised. However I also believe that you learn to be weird and creative by example of someone you admire. Fear to me was if I wanted to be like that someone even if I thought that they didnt succeed. Just very recently agter that person died I decided to devolope my creativity more seriously. Undoing my former self and rediscovering a whole new person. Thanks for the killer video!
I guess is good to have fear since this means you are experiencing new things and from experience you learn.
Something that might be related is to step out of your comfort zone. I remember watching a John''s Free video saying that you have to push yourself to take harder photos. Not just go for the easy stuff. Since then, I try to push myself.
Hi Ted, greetings from Ireland. Once again a great informative video. I totally get this! Keep up the trojan work :-)
Thank you so much for this. I appreciate the encouragement.
thanks for the words of wisdom.
that is a great video. If I find some time soon I will translate it. People should be told these kind of things more often.
I often hit a creative barrier that at first seems is entirely of my own making; "my own worst critic" etc.
But the older I get the more I find that much of this barrier is the internalization of my parents aesthetic preferences and judgements.
It's not easy to extricate yourself from this "box", and everyone's journey out is different [best case scenarios could be when the parents themselves lead a child out of the very box they initially built to aid and protect], but awareness is key: is this my opinion or the insidious voices of my past? Nothing brings this to bear more than when my 3yo daughter jumps up from playtime to declare "wait, I have an idea!"
Thanks for the video. Wonderful floss for any creative mind!
Loved the message in this video, Ted!! It brought to my mind that movie where Cate Blanchet performs as Bob Dylan, it's all about the costs of artists to try to change, specially when they've been so successful.. the immediate rejection must be really fearful that's why is so important I think, to work self confidence and trust in your gusts and intuition.. of course, it's about a conscious decision, as they mention below, between happiness or creative fulfilment and business.. great if you can combine both!
In high school i can relate to having much fear of things i thought or wanted to do. I was a very tall skinny kid that didn't play basketball. I did have glasses and a pocket protector. I was picked on due to my size, and probably because I didn't stand up for myself. I did a lot of creative things, but ended up falling into the family business rather than doing and believing in my own thing. Mostly looking for approval from my dad. It had only been recently that i have gone back to my interests. But I question it while keeping to my job. Which is not the family business anymore.
Boundaries have always been broken. Going back to the great early painters, they all had one thing in common and that was producing work that caused controversy and vastly unaccepted by one group of people or anothe, for whatever reason. And i think it ties in well with what Ted is trying to say here. Weird is good ☺
love your channel! and I'm from fort worth as well!!! Love that!
Well, I have to think of David Bowie as someone who did exactly that, expand, reinvent and not be afraid of breaking up with his own preconceptions as an artist. I think that in the academy world there is exactly the opposite, I am studying at a great photography academy in Amsterdam and for the last two years they have been trying to help us find/define our style, funnily enough, this happens only by getting out of your comfort zone. However, what was my style ten years ago, is not my style of today, evolution is the key.
that was very good! thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Oh cool, "Bump In The Night". I remember that show well. The 'back to the show' clip in here was pretty fast, but I caught it.
The Art of Photography is certainly a good read. Several times. I am a musician and a photographer. Both for a long time. Both disciplines are the same when it comes to fear. Whether you are at your own opening in a gallery ready to welcome people to your life in photography or about to stand on a stage to play your heart out. It's all about fear and having a sense of what it does to you, learning to control your emotional reaction to it. It's a healthy process to 'overcome' fear. Otherwise...you can stay home.
Insightful vid Ted - bang on!
Excellent contribution. thank you.
Brilliant as always
Ted, what a wonderful video, thank you so much!
Thank you so much for this. I am having these issues now.
“Every time a poem is written, every time a short story is written, it is written not by cunning, but by belief. The beauty, the something, the little charm of the thing to be, is more felt than known.” -Robert Frost
For me, the fear is that what I thought I saw to begin with, whatever value I placed on my subject before ever taking a picture, will end up being too elusive to capture, or may not exist at all. Personally, I try to overcome that by thinking of art, not as a means of production, or a platform for philosophy, but as an exploration. As time goes on, I find myself placing less and less value on how other people view my work, and more value on how much “reconciliation” there is between what I sensed to begin with and what I see in the final image.
Ted, with the jeep soft top it helps if you unhook the latches on the wind shelf before putting on the windows and the rest of the stuff on the corners and the sides.
I got goose bumps while I was watching this video. I thought I had such fear because I live in a oppressive society like in (South) Korea. I have been into photography for ten years and it was pretty recent thatI realized I was making photographs to please someone else. I was happy only when people liked my photos. So it was impossible for me to be happy with my work because my photos couldn't satisfy EVERYONE. This year I decided I will make photographs only to make myself happy. Creating photos became so much fun since then. I enjoy photography more than ever. At least, I am sure about one thing. If I have fear doing something new, I am on the right track. :D
Chad Lee South Korea is an oppressive society? Surely you mean North Korea?
I meant South Korea. This is not going to be easy to explain but I'll give it a shot.
First of all, if I lived in North Korea, I wouldn't have a chance to write something here. They don't have freedom of speech nor access to internet.
When I said South Korea is an oppressive society, I didn't mean we don't have any freedom. I meant that it's a society in which it's so hard to grow as a confident individual. Our older generation doesn't approve people who have their own opinions. They usually have a very strong opinion about how to live and judge people so superficially based on that. I am not saying everyone is like that. But there so many people who think and live that way. I think it is related to Confucianism. For example, we are supposed to respect the people who are older than us. We have a whole different form of language for them. This can be really cool if those older people are good. But there are so many jerks who thinks it's fair to boss around just because they are older than you. They never know hot to listen to other people. I know you can see this kind of people everywhere in the world but the problem is it's the norm in Korea. I hope I helped you understand, Ric. Well , I am really happy that I was born in South Korea, not in North Korea. If South Korea is an oppressive society, North Korea is like a giant prison.
i think a lot of artists don't change their style , because that is what their customers want. If you change your style, you need to start re marketing your self, and that makes paying the bills harder.
but, otherwise , completely agree.
Notification squad!! ✌🏽
Amazing video. Will forever be relevant.
good stuff as always, keep it up!
Love the videos! Great topic for today. On a side note, I've cringe seeing you leaving the top off your jeep in unpredictable Texas weather! I've lived in Houston for 8yrs and know that all weathermen are con artist. Lol
This was a very interesting video, I love photography and videography but I have always loved singing and song writing just as much. I have always feared that if I start and carrier it would be extremely difficult to do something in the other creative spaces. Food for thoughts, certainly.
Inspiring! You sir are that and more.
I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS, Ted.
Hello from Amsterdam
I posted my thoughts on this to DIYP, but I'm going to quote my closing sentences here. This is what I started doing 5 or 6 years ago, and it was the best thing I ever did.
"Sometimes, though, you're sitting there at the computer. You're debating internally about whether or not to show off your latest creation to the world. But then, you just have to think "f**k it", click submit, walk away for a couple of hours and hope for the best. What's the worst that can happen?"
I still get fear now when posting new things. But I find "f**k it, what's the worst that can happen?" is the best way to deal with it. :)
Loved this video! It's okay to be different. 📸
That was a great video! Thank you for that! Meant a lot to me!
Thanks for bringing up an important subject.
steven pressfield wrote a great book on this subject called the "War of Art". He labels the fear as resistance and explains how to overcome it. Worth a read, or listen as an audiobook.
Thank you so much for this video! I make emersive art films using cruelty free products to educate about animal rights. I am always afraid when I upload a new video and this helped me understand that it's okay to be scared as long as I'm doing what I love!
i am having this phase right now !!!!!!
Great video! Just found your channel and i can see i found it exactly the right time.
I'm moving away from one creative work field and into another.
But i need to face this fear and start sharing my own creative expressions aswell, otherwise i will just start making everyone elses recipes over and over again.
If anyone got suggestions or know how to train this, it would be greatly appreciated.
I used to spend a huge amount of time not doing things I wanted to. I was afraid of failing, or looking like an idiot, or being laughed at, having people thinking I'm wasting my time because they don't understand creativity.
Then I decided that all of this worrying about what others might think of me was stopping me from being me....
Any yes I was letting the fear of potentials control and limit me.
So this year I started posting a vlog and thought screw it - I'm just not going to care what people thing, and if they don't understand or approve, then that limits them, not me.
Hey, Ted. Love your videos. But, talking about fear while handling a big knife and cutting something thrilled me a bit. :D
Great info. Thank you !
Excellent!
I'm so buying that tee shirt!