Most days newspaper photographers are assigned to illustrate reporters’ stories, or cover news, events, or sports. We are given a time to be somewhere, the name of a contact and are either told, or have an idea of what we will be photographing.
Other times we have to come up with something on our own.
So how do I generate an idea from a completely blank slate? How we each do this is the magic of creativity.
My process is to look around, not just at what’s in front of me, but to think of what I’ve seen and read and thought about lately. I recall pictures I’ve made previously, or images I’ve admired by others. I let my thoughts drift, and try to notice patterns, juxtapositions, or things that seem out of place. And make connections.
I am patient, even when it seems inspiration is not going to hit me.
I seldom find that spark while driving. I need to get out of the car and walk. Or sit on a bench. And free associate.
This week I thought of autumn, the end of daylight savings, the sunlight low in the sky, and cooler days. In a park I watched squirrels scampering on leaves collecting and burying food for the even colder days coming.
More walking, and sitting, and I spotted an unusual black squirrel. I once read they are more common around the Great Lakes, but around here, plain old grey squirrels are what we have. (I googled it later. Less than 1% of the grey squirrel population on the East Coast “present heightened levels of the dark pigment melanin.”)
Back on my feet I came across a courtyard full of fan-shaped leaves, spread in front of me like a quiet, golden revelation.
Ginkgo biloba, I knew from previous assignments. The oldest tree species on Earth, it’s often called a “living fossil.” It has survived for over 200 million years, outlasting the dinosaurs, and has remained relatively unchanged.
That became my inspiration this week. Call me a biophiliac (having the hypothetical human tendency to interact or be closely associated with other forms of life in nature). But it’s how I made the connection and this week’s photo.
See more gingkoes (and another photo of the black squirrel) in the gallery:
Since 1998 a black-and-white photo has appeared every Monday in staff photographer Tom Gralish’s “Scene Through the Lens” photo column in the print editions of The Inquirer’s local news section. Here are the most recent, in color: