In this week’s podcast, we examine a couple of varied themes and how they all relate to a different way to examine the role of criticism in our creative process.

There is such value in doing the work. The reality of creating is that if you don’t do the work, it’s not going to happen. At the end of the day, you have to put in the effort to make sure that the work gets done. Without that effort and energy, nothing is going to change or make way for your creative process to move you forward as a creative.

Also, in a conversation with my editor, I also learned how certain phrases, while common to some, are completely without context for others. Part of the job as a writer is to try and find a way to say what we need without relying on regional or generational phrases. Something like the dog days of summer might make sense to some people, and yet remain an unknown to many others. Using these sorts of phrases makes it more of a challenge to convey meaning.

Finally, I realized that when we are looking at criticism of our work, it is easy to get so wrapped up with the feedback that we fail to listen properly. It occurred to me that part of what we want to hear is an acknowledgment of the work. When we only focus on what doesn’t work or does work in an image, we fail to ultimately listen if we also are looking for some understanding of the work that was put into the creative efforts. By allowing space for both, we can both critique our work and the work of others in a way that hopefully allows for more of the conversation to be heard.

Don’t forget to check out my 2017 Workshops including the Perceptive Photographer Workshop focused on the introspection side of photography.