Finding Inspiration Everywhere

There’s no limit to where someone can find inspiration for creativity. One just has to look at their surroundings and imagine what they may look like replicated using a particular medium. Yesterday, I spent a good hour taking photos of a nearby sunflower field planted by a local farmer near my home. I pass this field every time I drive to and from town. The flowers stand stoic and tall; heads tipped to the sun as if they can’t take in enough Vitamin D. In a variety of shades, from pale yellow to dark reddish-brown, the sunflowers dot the roadside with beauty and pride. I couldn’t resist taking photos and actually got some pretty good shots.

It made me realize how much I miss photography. Which then made me miss my dad and reminded me of cherished childhood memories. The hours we spent together in our basement darkroom, moving prints from one developing bath to another, watching the photograph appear with each step and then hanging it to drip dry with clothespins on a line. That familiar smell of chemical, the darkened room lit only by a red light, so you could still see what you were doing without exposing the sensitive paper to damaging regular bright lights. I loved spending time with him there. Sometimes he’d talk me through what was happening and teach me what each bath did. After a while, he’d just work in silence, and I’d just watch fascinated by all that he knew. I soaked in the lessons, listened to his calm timbre, and watch as his eyes danced every time I’d get excited seeing the photo reveal its secrets. Always the teacher, he reveled in the student “light bulb” moment when the lesson caught in their brain.

He was inspiration then. And he’s still an inspiration today.