Begin Again

Learning not to predict the future

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Lights, Krowji, Cornwall

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Hello,

Do you go through the motions or truly create something? Are you a formula creator, knowing the result before you even start?

I have been feeling a bit like this recently, just going through the motions barely scratching the surface of my creative power.

The problem with creativity is the mistakes, they make you feel rubbish, destroying your self confidence. So when we hit upon a formula that works we stick to it rigidly, same lens, same perspective, predictable results that perhaps your audience loves, but gradually you lose heart, your work lacks soul and seems to lack that bit of you that made it real.

When you look at the work turned out by AI it lacks soul, lacks the raw edges of the human hand.

We are human, designed to make mistakes and to learn from them, then grow some more and make more mistakes. The trouble is the older we get, coupled with being more experienced in our craft, we start to want predictable, safe results, we want the perfection of the formula without the learning so we stop trying new things for fear of looking like we don’t know what we are doing.

I am a photographer, I have defined myself as a photographer since leaving school. The label suited me, but actually I am an artist, I play with light, shape, line, tone gesture to make images that please me by using a camera. I am not a beginner when it comes to photography, I have 30+ years of experience of making images.

I am sometimes frightened of making mistakes or sharing images that are different to my usual style for fear of them not being liked - I could kick myself for saying this outloud!

This year I want to break what I do, to change a few things to experiment more and feel the freedom that creativity offers. I will be offering an online workshop soon with this in mind, but that is not the point of this newsletter.

I have embraced my fear of making mistakes and joined workshops as a participant to learn pottery, litho printing, charcoal drawing all with a view to growing out of my comfort zone and allowing the ideas that have come from these sessions to spill into my photography.

It is incredible powerful to start again, to be a beginner and have no expectation or pressure. The joy of just creating something for the sake of creating is why I create photographs but so often I get bogged down in the ‘is it good enough’ internal debate.

Let me tell you something, having splashed clay all over a wall, covered my hands and face in ink and charcoal over the last few weeks I feel alive for trying, making mistakes asking for help and watching people who know what they’re doing and learning from them.

When I ask for help from someone experienced in their field and they share their knowledge with enthusiasm it reminds me why I love to teach and share my own knowledge. The people who helped me have no concerns about me setting up in competition or copying their ideas because they, like me, know that only they can create their work.

I urge you to try something that you are not experienced in, I promise you, the fact you will find it frustrating, messy, funny, hard and rewarding all at the same time will spill into whatever creative field you follow.

Be brave stop predicting what your work with look like and allow it to guide, inspire and inform you.

It is brilliant to be a beginner.

Thank you for your time

Best wishes

Paul

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The retreats I am offering for 2025 are as follows:

The Rainforest Retreat, Cornwall, 5th to 9th May 2025

Last Places

Join me in the temperate rainforest of Cabilla - one of the few areas of temperate rainforest left in Britain. The magical forest is filled with twisted oaks, ferns and lichen, a creative jungle, we will explore making prints and rubbings of trees as well as making hand sewn photobooks.

Erth Cornwall Mindful Photography Retreat, 27- 31st October 2025

Erth is special place sitting in the curve of a river just inside Cornwall. It is a place where time slows down and you can decompress by exploring your creativity and leave with a handmade book

Cornwall Boconnoc Mindful Photography Retreat, 3rd to 7th November 2025

The grounds of Boconnoc in south east Cornwall are a treasure trove for photographers, the house is surrounded by ancient deer park and magnificent trees, a meandering river winds through the grounds passing the saw mill all have a multitude of visual treats.

Collaborative Workshops

Together with Adrian and Clea Beasley I am running a number of creative photography and bookbinding for photographers workshops. We only have a couple of places left on these all inclusive workshops.

Margate Image and Word 18th - 21st March 2025 TWO PLACES REMAINING

The faded beauty of the English seaside, Margate is a goldmine for photographers it boast a couple of tidal swimming pools, a run down and graffiti covered lido, narrow alleys, an amusement part all for you to make a compelling set of images to bind into a hand made book.

Explore Creative Image making North Devon 2nd -5th June 2025

This is our second exploration of creative techniques for image making. Myself Adrian and Clea like to push the boundaries of our equipment and imaginations in this workshop designed to inspire you to think out of the traditional box.

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