Am I feeling the creative spark again?

There was a time, not that many years ago when I took photography very seriously. So seriously that I was very much on the edge of going professional. But then life took over and I had my breakdown and I kind of lost the creative spark. Then my physical health failed and I put my equipment away and gave up photography all together.

Then, at the end of 2023 and the very start of 2024 I took all my professional equipment and traded it in for a new Sony Alpha 7cR and a few fixed lenses. Now, the Sony is no full on pro camera. But at the same time it is probably one of the best cameras in it’s class in the world with it’s 60 megapixel full frame sensor in interchangeable lenses. It takes amazing quality photographs as can be seen from the simple test shot I took today over on the left. The only problem is I’ve not really felt the creative spark.

Sure, I’ve taken a few photographs using the camera built into my Samsung S23 Ultra but that doesn’t count in my book. That’s taking snap shots not photographs.

But yesterday something happened. I was down by the river Trent heading home after a coffee when I stopped and looked across the river at a line of electricity pylons running away from me and I started thinking how I could capture that in a “photograph”. And that’s how I used to think and feel about images and locations and it’s something I’ve not felt for a long time.

Today I’ve dug the camera out and charged the battery, loaded a memory card and fitted a small but fast 50mm fixed lens and I’m going to try and start carrying it about with me a bit. The test shot I took that you can see over on the left is nothing other than just that, it’s a test shot. But I love the colours, the dynamic range and the creamy smoothness of the image it captured. And this is straight out of the camera, no editing at all.

Maybe it will work, maybe it won’t but the only way I’ll know it to give it a try.