A special effects guru helps fulfill his son’s fantasies by creating brief sketches of the child’s imaginative adventures!
I think you will find these just as amazing as many others have.
creative
Commit, Motivate, Succeed!
If you are a regular reader of JBRish, you know that I collect and enjoy good quotes. I have been a quote collector for more than fifty years. When I was in teaching, I used quotes to stimulate dialogue at the beginning of my lessons.
I am always searching for that next best quote whether it be from an ancient pundit like Plato, a well-known author like Mark Twain or just someone who managed to capture an idea in a way that I found stimulating, poignant or motivational.
I recently discovered Benjamin Hardy’s post, These 20 Pictures Will Teach You More Than Reading 100 Books, mainly because it had potential to be a source for a few good quotes. Much of the time an article like this will have a few good quotes indented and set off to help make a point, but this study captured me. While looking at some of the quotes, I began to read the supporting exposition and I was hooked!
If you want to understand the psychological underpinnings of how you (and anyone else) can accomplish their goals, I believe this article will start you on your way. I dare say, it might be one that you will refer to over and over. A major hypothesis is that you can’t wait for inspiration. You need to create it through your actions.
Hardy uses an example of some perceived music greats to make a point:
For example, among the 50 greatest pieces of music ever created, six belong to Mozart, five are Beethoven’s, and three Bach’s. But in order to create those, Mozart wrote over 600 songs, Beethoven 650, and Bach over 1,000.**
I find this to be very true. As humans, I think we are conditioned to focus on the great achievements, casting aside all of the failures and hard work it took to get the final point of success. As Robin S. Sharma points out, “Every master was once a beginner.” Likewise, we often focus more on our few failures than our many interim successes.
Another factoid from the article that I found fascinating follows:
In 2005, the National Science Foundation published an article showing that the average person has between 12,000 and 60,000 thoughts per day. Of those, 80% are negative and 95% are exactly the same repetitive thoughts as the day before.**
That is a multitude of brain power delivering all those thoughts. We then should ask: What happens to all those thoughts? Why are we having the same thoughts day after day? In the article Benjamin Hardy explains what is happening and how it might apply to you.
If you are a creative person and you want to be motivated and inspired, I highly recommend this reading. I think you will be glad that you did!
** The pictures and quotes are printed here courtesy of the original article linked above!
Read more miscellaneous stories on JBRish HERE
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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.
©Jeffrey B. Ross – 2018 – JBRish.com
STATUS QUOte Picture Quote – 20190316
Today’s STATUS QUOte Picture Quote
“Every challenge that comes your way is an opportunity for you to do something remarkable.”
Picture Via Google+ Communities
See previous STATUS QUOtes HERE
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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.
©Jeffrey B. Ross 2014 – 2019 – JBRish.com
Photography: My Shot — Swirling Pine Needles
After hiking for more than a week in Yellowstone National Park, we moved on to Red Lodge, Montana to continue our adventure. We decided to explore a course along the Silver Run Plateau, Trail #102, Loop #3 just outside of town.
The first part of the loop was quite rocky with boulders and large rocks buried in and around the path. The return half of the hike, however brought us nearer to the river which had much better footing and more intersting views. Along the way, we passed a feeder stream that had a very slow, but consistent flow. A large number of pine needles were “caught” in a side channel and they were swirling around in a somewhat circular motion as the water worked its way around some rocks and debris.
The pattern was very appealing and I found that watching the movement was similar to playing with a kaleidoscope.
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Metadata
File Name: DSC_3958.NEF
Capture time: 11:18 AM
Capture date: Sept. 17, 2018
Exposure: 1/100 sec @ f/11
Focal Length: 55mm
ISO: 100
Camera: Nikon D3300
Lens: 18.0 – 55.02mm f/3.5-5.6
Edited in Lightroom & Photoshop
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See more photography posts HERE and visit Jeff’s Instagram site HERE
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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.
©Jeffrey B. Ross 2014 – 2018 – JBRish.com
STATUS QUOtes — Picture Quote — 20180611
Today’s Picture Quote
“People ask me, ‘Why are you single? You’re attractive, intelligent and creative. My reply is, ‘I’m overqualified.”
See previous STATUS QUOtes HERE
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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.
©Jeffrey B. Ross – 2018 – JBRish.com
STATUS QUOtes — Picture Quote — 20180412
Today’s Picture Quote
“People ask me, ‘Why are you single? You’re attractive, intelligent and creative.’ My reply is, ‘I’m overqualified.'” ― Unknown
See previous STATUS QUOtes HERE
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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.
©Jeffrey B. Ross – 2018 – JBRish.com
Finding and Developing Your Artistic Genius and Vision
Your Artistic Genius and Vision
— Karen Hutton —
Photograph by Jeffrey B. Ross
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For those who have followed my photography posts, I have some information you may find of interest and motivational. In any creative endeavor there are several factors involved. I would like to quickly address just two of them.
Tools of the Trade – If you are a musician, sculptor, quilter, painter, stain glass artisan, etc., you understand that there are tools you will need to be successful. Having the correct tools, however is only a start.
You could place a piano in front of me, even the best, most expensive piano available, and I would not be able to play it. I might be able to learn to play it eventually, but I couldn’t do it on my own. I don’t know the difference between the white keys and the black keys. I am aware that there are pedals on the base of the instrument, but I don’t have the faintest idea of what they do.
You could cajole me, bribe me or threaten me, but no matter what, I just couldn’t do it. That is because I haven’t learned the tools of the trade. I haven’t learned how to apply and use the means of the craft.
The first essential element for any creator, therefore, is to completely understand the tools required and how to use each one of them to their fullest. That is perhaps why Malcom Gladwell in his book Outliers, suggested that 10,000 hours of deliberate practice would be necessary to achieve expertise. There is much argument about the number of hours and how Gladwell derived this theory, but suffice it to say that much practice and study would be needed to become an acknowledged expert in one of the arts. And much of those hours would be practicing to effectively use the tools and potentially even inventing new ways of applying them.
Vision – This, in my opinion, can be the more difficult part. Many art students begin by copying the drawings and paintings of the masters and after some time, they become proficient, almost perfect copiers. This, however, does not make them an artist.
To become an artist, one must develop their own unique vision of the world. Once that vision is understood and realized, then it is time to take the tools of the trade and apply them to create their style through their art so the world can appreciate, recognize and enjoy their craft and unique signature.
If this has piqued your curiosity and you are interested in photography or any creative endeavor, then let me suggest you follow Karen Hutton’s series “The Everyday Genius of Your Artist’s Voice.” I admire Karen and I have been following her blog for a while. I find her posts very motivating and insightful. Some of the concepts will be “fuzzy” at first until you have tried to apply them to your own creative universe. After you begin to apply them and really think hard about them, the clarity should evolve.
While Karen focuses on the vision and art of photography, the same advice can be applied to most creative undertakings. Once you get to her blog, you will realize how diverse her background is and why she is able to guide people through this process.
I will make it easy to get started. All you have to do is follow these links to the first set of articles in the series. Once at her site, subscribe and you will receive the rest.
The Everyday Genius of Your Artist’s Voice: Part 1
The Everyday Genius of Your Artist’s Voice: Part 2, Preparation
The Everyday Genius of Your Artist’s Voice: Part 3, Appearance
The Everyday Genius of Your Artistic Voice: Q&A
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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.
©Jeffrey B. Ross – 2017
Photography: Animal Silhouettes or People
As readers of JBRish know, photography is one of my hobbies and it is very interesting to me to find that there are so many subsets of photography for specialists.
Did you ever try to take a good picture of food? It is harder than you might think. Look at a couple of recipe websites and notice how interesting and wonderful most people manage to make the ingredients and finish serving appear.
Besides food photography, there are the more popular categories of landscape, portraiture, travel, etc. Of course there are some very unique categories as well such as astrophotography, medical photography and street photography just to name a few.
Then there are those photographers who are just very creative in what they do. I have often come across an interesting photograph and wondered: “Why didn’t I think of that?” And then again, even if I had, there is a world of difference between thinking of something and the doing. The photograph below is an example.
The only information I could gather is that this photograph was taken to support animal adoption. Some consider it an example of optical illusions. I just think it is pretty darn clever.
Have you seen any interesting photographs that were extremely creative? If so, why not provide that information in a comment for all readers to appreciate?
NOTE – I don’t have the information for appropriate attribution. If anyone can provide the correct data, please leave it in a comment and I will certainly update the post. When I consider my life experience, I have to appreciate that I was born at a most advantageous time. I am not going to wax philosophical here about economic outlooks, moral changes or political shifts. What I am referring to is the plethora of creative inventions/options that have been brought forth during my lifetime. There are more ways for people to express their creativity than ever before. The first movies I saw as a child were not even in movie theaters. They were in an open field on temporary benches broadcast on a makeshift screen. If it rained, no movie. In some cases the movies weren’t even black and white. They were sepia toned. One film was blue and white; now that was weird! Today’s creators have so much power under their control and with the burgeoning field of computer-generated imagery (CGI) rolling full speed ahead, the consumers of entertainment have much to anticipate and should be excited. Let’s not forget, however, some of the mesmerizing effects of legacy processes like the Phenakistoscope, Zoetrope, the flip book, etc. In their day, they were entertainment. In the video below, L’illusion de Joseph, Pask D’Amico creates a most mesmerizing piece of entertainment based on a modernization of old school techniques. I found these particularly alluring, but I have to confess, I am also a sucker for Kaleidoscopes, which may seem like a non sequitur, but watch the short film and you will get what I mean. You are going to like this; I can almost guarantee it! Oh, did I say that the music is captivating too? L'illusion de Joseph from Mr.Klesha animation on Vimeo. This is the time of year that photography websites start talking about ideas, resolutions, etc. for the New Year. We often hear about a monthly challenge or perhaps even a weekly challenge. Every once in a while someone steps up and starts a 365 day photography challenge based on a theme or idea that they have. I am doing a modified* 365 day challenge by posting a picture-a-day for 365 days selected from the shots I took during our hiking and exploration trip to Yosemite National Park. This is the link if you are interested: Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 1 & Project Introduction *NOTE – While I do intend to post 365 separate photos from my Yosemite excursions, I am not doing them strictly on consecutive days because of previous commitments and plans. The PHOTOBLOG is stepping up to help those who might need inspiration for such a challenge by offering a yearly calendar with a new photography idea for every day of the year. This would be a wonderful resource for those who just want to gather new and fresh ideas or to stimulate ideas of their own. The PHOTOBLOG suggests it might make a nice gift for a phtographer-friend and I agree! Here are some random examples of suggested ideas: In addition to being a springboard for ideas, the calendar itself has very pretty photography and serves its general utilitarian function of keeping track of the dates. Each page has the main month along with the preceding and following month; a nice touch. See the sample screen shot below. Check out all of the details and find out how to post some of your own project shots by visiting this PHOTOBLOG web page.
Video – Now that is Entertainment
Photography – A Year of Inspiration and Ideas
See previous JBRish.com Photography posts HERE