In lieu of our advertised session with Pieter De Vires, (who unfortunately was unable to make it last Thursday night), we were treated to a very special presentation by Diane McKenzie. It goes to show the depth and breadth we have at Lane Cove when we can put on such a special presentation at short notice. If you missed this night, you have missed one of our very best nights of the year.

Diane took us through her thoughts on why we photograph, citing several examples of artists who produced their best work as a result of personal stress or angst. Diane's approach does not rely on "angst", but does respond to her passion for her subjects to inspire her creativity.

Diane gave us a series of important tips on how to improve our approach to our image making:

Tip #1: Don't avoid lens flare, use it to enhance the feeling in the image. This applies to any "undesirable" aspects of image making.

Tip #2: Find new delights in the familiar. Don't assume that being in a new location will necessarily enhance your creativity, most of Diane's expressive work is taken near her home.

Tip #3: When travelling or in unfamiliar locations, don't just try to collect images like souvenirs, being observant and in the moment will open new creative opportunities.

Tip #4: Break compositional "rules" with gay abandon. Rules inhibit spontaneity and creativity.

Tip #5: Turn a negative situation into a positive photographic experience. Channel negative emotions and thoughts into new ways to see the world.

Tip #6: Don't be concerned about the future, face it by doing somersaults, spinning around and generally rolling about. In other words, don't take things too seriously !

Tip #7: Embrace a "hysterical" histogram. Don't worry about your histogram being all over the place, the image and the emotions they contain are the only things that are important. There is no such thing as a "perfect" histogram anyway.

Tip #8: Don't dismiss accidents, embrace them and see where they take you. Some of the best discoveries are made by accident.

Tip #9: Chase your missing "Sparkle" by delighting in photographing the joy of the simplest of things. Use these to change you perception of beauty.

Tip #10: When you can attain utter stillness, you will become receptive to messages from your unconscious mind, and your heart. Creativity will flow when you relax and let the images come to you.

I Don't Need Therapy, I Have Photography !

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