As a photographer who participates in many online and in-person communities, one thing I hear very, VERY often is the phrase “it’s all been done before!”Now while that is probably largely true for most, sometimes I have to sit back and wonder….REALLY?Is there absolutely ZERO left?There’s gotta be something new and different out there, just waiting to be created…

 

 

Who knew food photography could be so geeky and scientific?Post-Production Pye showed me this video on Vimeo, (thanks to James Lee who is a master chef and photography enthusiast!) and I think it’s an amazing concept that was beautifully accomplished.

Of course the folks at https://modernistcuisine.com/ haven’t even really used the “latest” technology in executing their concept, from a technical standpoint all it took was a regular high-speed flash setup, something that has been around for decades.The most famous high-speed photo (Harold Edgerton) was captured in 1964!And look, it’s food again!

 

 

 

But seriously, does that mean that *ALL* food photography is now considered “old”?Not in my opinion.If anything, this only proves that creative people will always find a new way to approach photography.

Now, let’s add the absolute NEWEST in photographic technology to the equation:Namely, the amazing improvements we have seen recently in digital sensor image quality, especially dynamic range and low-light performance at high ISO’s.The work of Tom Lowe from TimeScapes.org has continually blown us away here at SLR Lounge; I personally have the HD video on pre-order and I’m super excited!Raw footage like this just goes to show that there are many, MANY new horizons out there for us to enjoy…

 

 

 

I’m sure that many readers still have one or two thoughts going through their minds:

1.)It *still* has all been done before, all we’re doing is re-shooting stuff in higher resolution.(Boring?)
Often, this is true.Movies like Avatar could be considered “totally new”, …or some people are just calling it “a computer re-generated re-make of ‘Dances With Wolves’…”LOL!But I would argue that even though we’re all using the same “building blocks”, fresh creativity still abounds today.That’s what it’s all about- building blocks, and finding new things to do with them.Just like how each human being is made out of the same stuff-skin and bones – and yet we manage to come up with 6+ billion different (sets of) fingerprints!

2.)Sure, an elite few people are “inventing” new things, but the rest of US are still just copying THEM. (So why bother?)
In my opinion that is such a cop-out!Yeah, I might be “copying” Tom Lowe when I go out to Joshua Tree at 2 AM and drive around photographing time lapses on a Canon 5 D mk2 and 24 1.4 L… But you know what?I still find it very, very creatively satisfying to follow in the footsteps of other pioneers.We’re still at the cutting edge of what is possible, and just because another artist is one step ahead of you today, doesn’t mean you or someone else won’t be able to pass them by in a year or three!

 

All I can say is, that ifeveryone gave up on trying something new and creative the moment they saw someone else using the same technique, well, then we would never get to enjoy masterpieces such as this:

 


(Mike Fossum, NASA, video edited by Michael König, 2011)
So get out there, be creative, try something NEW, even if it’s just new to YOU.You never know when you might come up with something TRULY new!

Take care,
=Matt=