Do You Have a Place in Photography?

Sister Corita Kent's first rule for students was: "Find a place you trust, and then, try trusting it for a while." There are both practical and philosophical benefits to having a location that is your photographic home. Explore them in this video.

Ted Forbes' more philosophically oriented videos are always spot on, and this one is no different. Of course, knowing a certain geographic location intimately is beneficial for a photographer in a very real sense: one is able to draw upon different areas for their light, their textures, their environment, etc., but I think that also carries deeper into the creative process. These locations can in turn feed back into the creative process, the potential that lies within them can be the basis of new ideas or experimentation. Furthermore, I think there's an idea of comfort to be considered; we're more likely to be creatively adventurous in a place we know well, because it frees our mind from devoting energy to more first-order thoughts like how to get back home, plus there's the security of being somewhere we know. It's admittedly a bit nebulous, but I do think it makes a difference. Do you have a photographic place? Tell us about it in the comments! 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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5 Comments

I find that the most difficult place to photograph is actually at and around home. It is all so familiar that I find it difficult to choose objects and scenes to photograph that "stand out". I find myself trying to put myself in the shoes of someone who has come from elsewhere, who might see my patch as "exotic".

I know what you mean; I struggle with that sometimes too.

My (photographer) girlfriend and I were just saying the same the other day. It's hard to get excited around home.

The Great Western Trail in AZ

I'm from Canada but my "home" is the American Southwest, especially in and around Death Valley. I've put thousands of miles on rental cars driving around to the places I want to see and photograph.