Recently I was reading a book written by a very learned religious scholar.  He spoke about how important it is to find the time at least once a day to “retreat to an intentional space for silence, solitude and listening to what is stirring in our hearts.”

It turns out I have been doing this for years.  For me it’s the walking I do by myself and now with my puppy every day. No music, no phone … nothing. But I could be sitting in the park, finding a quiet place in the library … it could really be almost anywhere.  My walks are a central part of my life and I’m out there unless it’s below 12 degrees (my wife’s rule, not mine!) or monsooning. The time I spend doing this is one of my most cherished and essential parts of the day. I think about many things … family, friends, new ideas for my business, all the other things I have to be thankful for, and of course photography.

What I try my best not to think about is the non-stop insanity that seems to be going on all around us on a daily basis. When one of those ugly thoughts pops up I turn my attention to something else. Plenty of time during the rest of the day to think about what makes me sad!

So when I am out there alone and with Sparky I begin to think about new ideas, places to go and pictures to make. Often I imagine photographs I have never made, but the more I think, the more inspired I become!  I also think about what I want to accomplish in my darkroom. I map out entire plans for projects to do, outings to take and prints to make. It is a very good and creative time, away from all the daily distractions we all have.

Every now and then we need something to inspire us to be creative and do the work we truly want to accomplish. We just can’t find the time to reach deep down inside ourselves to discover what it is we want to do and how to make it happen … in life … and art. We’re unable to “listen to what is stirring in our hearts”.

I’m lucky that many years ago I decided to make walking a central part of my life. I did it for the exercise, but soon realized that the miles I put in every day were the least of what I got out of my daily routine. I know that what I’m able to do is easier said than done for many. So what I am suggesting is that you find some way … any way … to carve out moments of quiet time each day, wherever and in whatever way works best for you … even if it’s just a few minutes. Use the time well. Doing so might just spark a whole new creative phase in life … and art.

I celebrated my 64th birthday last week and of course it got me thinking about a scene in in the great American movie Risky Business.

Miles: Sometimes you gotta say “WTF” (this is a family website!), make your move. Joel, every now and then, saying “WTF”, brings freedom. Freedom brings opportunity, opportunity makes your future. So your parents are going out of town. You got the place all to yourself.

Joel Goodson: Yeah.

Miles: WTF.

Last time out I discussed my Two Hour plan and how I now felt much looser, less pressured, and more liberated.  I thought that others could benefit from the concept as well. What do you need to do in order to become fully liberated? I think Miles’ philosophy is sound and worthy of being followed, at least when it comes to photography. Think about it … we are always being told what galleries want, what the competition judges are looking for, that bigger is better, what camera to use, what format is best, what film to use, what developer, what paper to print on.

I am now at the point where I could care less about what the vast majority of people have to say.  I have had my WTF moment, and yes, it is bringing me freedom, which in turn will bring opportunity. Why? Because I feel completely unfettered to do whatever I want, whenever I want, and in a way I want to do it. The world is my oyster and with my Two Hourplan, it’s never far away!

This mindset isn’t a license to become lazy or to stop learning. It’s not a replacement for getting out and making photographs and then doing the very best you can in the darkroom to recreate your vision. Far from it! It is living yourphotographic life on yourcreative terms to produce what is truly important to youin a way that works for you. What a novel concept … doing your work unencumbered by what others think. WTF!

That’s the name of the new focus I have established for myself, and I am suggesting it might be one for you as well.  So what do I mean by Two Hours?  Glad you asked. Looking out for and discovering things of obvious and potential photographic interest that are within two hours of where I live. That sounds pretty vague but I actually think it’s a stroke of genius.  I can always be on the lookout for interesting and even bizarre and other out of the ordinary events to checkout. Or I can learn about things that are important to those I live near me and hang out with them. And guess what – it takes a lot of pressure off me concerning what to be photographing. Now I’m surrounded by all sorts of opportunities!

All of the sudden local news and nearby events become more worthy of note.  For example, over the past few months I have attended several protest events here in Doylestown organized and made up mostly of high school students (my faith in the young has been rekindled!), attended the annual Peace Festival put on by a local Quaker school here in Bucks County about 10 minutes from where I live (I felt like I stepped back into the Sixties), visited Ocean Grove NJ, a small community on the Jersey Shore founded by Methodist clergymen in 1869, and mingled with some strange rangers at the annual Zombie Walk held in Asbury Park.

So you might say I am pretty lucky to live where I do and that I have an unfair competitive advantage – Bucks County, Philadelphia, the Delaware River, New York City, the Jersey Shore, the Poconos … I could go on.  Yes it’s great, and I love living here, but I don’t think I am better off than anyone else. I truly believe that there’s always fertile opportunity wherever one might be if you’re open to it.

None of this means I have dispensed with specific projects. Far from it!  A benefit of the Two Hourplan is that with enough outings and results new themes demanding additional focus may emerge.

I never thought about this idea before, despite it being so utterly simple and obvious.  Now that I’ve had this news flash I feel much looser, less pressured, and yes, somewhat liberated. When I am out and about I feel more creative and have even more fun.  Consider the Two Hourplan for yourself. You might get similar benefits!

This week I start another semester teaching two photography classes at Delaware Valley University’s Center for Learning in Retirement. I also teach another class on a completely different subject and continue to work for myself.  Then of course there are the children and the grandchildren to see. In between all of this I find time to go out to photograph and make some prints of the keepers. Occasionally I’m able to listen to some music, which is another lifelong passion. All of which means I’m probably a little bit nuts! My wife tells me that with more frequency and she’s probably right. And speaking of insanity, there’s the puppy we got that turned our lives upside down this year.

The problem is I gain a tremendous amount of satisfaction from living a somewhat insane life.  One thing that gives me the some of most satisfaction is teaching my course called Living a Photographic Life. I’ve discussed this before. It came about as a result of the first entry I wrote for this site. The idea is to find things to do in order to keep our heads in the photographic game when life conspires to keep us from making photographs. But there’s another useful reason to go to all sorts of art exhibits, go to libraries and used bookstores to find great monographs, and get on line to discover a treasure trove of information. The reason is that we sometimes need a creative spark to reignite an interest to actually go out and make photographs.

So I love teaching this course for a number of reasons. I see my students learn new things and broaden their photographic horizons … or in some cases develop horizons that never existed before. Then there is getting them to go out to make photographs and have them printed so they can actually see what they look like instead of merely viewing them on their phones or pads. None of my students use film or go near a darkroom. But that doesn’t matter to me. All that matters is that I’m getting them excited enough about the possibilities so they will go out and do something.

What about you? I’ve discussed the value of a photographic project if your interest is waning or your just stuck. But I know there are some that can’t even do that in order to get motivated. Better to wait for the exotic trip next year that’s thousands of miles away. Ok, I can’t get in your head, but how about try keeping it in the game to continue learning and stay interested? Just perhaps something might spark your desire to pick up your camera, load some film into it and go out photographing.  Who knows, you might get inspired to find the time to go out again and even make some prints!

I’ve come to know a number of my students and have gained a tremendous amount of satisfaction from seeing what has resulted because they kept their heads in the game.

There’s a lot to see and learn about. Take the time to do it. You might just enter a new and rewarding creative phase!