Communication Breakdown

4"x5" Dry tintype

Loosing one’s voice temporarily is a traumatic experience, our connection to the outside becomes severed. Even simple tasks become complex and frustrating. But what about loosing one's creative voice? It is infinitely more difficult to define and far more destructive than simply not being able to speak. The worst part about it is you may not recognize its absence. We keep speaking visually but our message is silent, if art doesn’t come from your creative center it is equivalent to showing unexposed film. Everyone looks right through it as there is no image present.

I lost my voice, lost it for years and only recently realized how truly mute I became. I grasped at every new thing that came along: HDR, three point light, actions, small strobes, giant strobes, they all made their way into my work and replaced my voice with trends. It became about sales averages, print prices, and looking like the popular “successful” photographers. In all reality it was just tamping down my creative voice until it became a squeak and then silent altogether. My work became nothing more than retread ground, an indistinguishable noise in the crowd. I’m not a great photographer, but became infinitely worse when I stopped being true to my creative voice. I will always be a photographer, regardless of technique, equipment, lighting, or sales numbers. It is not something I choose to do, it is something I have to do. Being an artist is about possessing a desire to create and give intangible ideas a place in the physical world, nothing more.

This is not some new years resolution or overnight epiphany, it developed over time like all ideas and finally demanded to be put in writing. My internal focus has been readjusted, now it is time to create and find the strength to follow my ideas.

"Nothing is worse than a sharp picture of a fuzzy concept."--Ansel Adams.

Good Health and Travels
David Hayes
Owner Resolute Visuals