Comments on: Expanding your Default

By: Educational Blog Posts : nick onken shoptalk

Educational Blog Posts : nick onken shoptalk — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 03:49:36 +0000

[...] Expanding Your Default http://nickonken.com/blog/2008/10/expanding-your-default.html [...]

By: the album leaf . seattle music photography

the album leaf . seattle music photography — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:00:43 +0000

[...] almost impossible to shoot because there was no light, which was actually pretty valid, or you can expand your default and jump out of your comfort zone. I got nervous for about 4 seconds, and then I got SO [...]

By: the album leaf . seattle music photography | sara montour . tacoma and seattle green music, portrait, and wedding photographer . moment capturer . music lover . vagabond . open book

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:23:10 +0000

By: Gary Allard

Gary Allard — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:09:57 +0000

Nick
Great post and very timely. I was just having a conversation about this last night. I think we’re all guilty of the “Default” no matter what level of success we attain. Mine has been annoyingly apparent lately.
One thing I’ve been doing is asking non-photogs for ideas. Anyone really. You’d be surprised at some of the things people come up with. Even though it makes me uncomfortable (my art director background kicking in) and my first impression is to resist or tell them it’s not done like that, the fact is I’m challenged to see something in a different way. Never a bad thing.

By: cbp

cbp — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:47:05 +0000

great post!
your previous posts and this one here from chase jarvis are a great lecture: http://blog.chasejarvis.com/blog/2008/06/inspired-bychallenged-by-creative-gap.html

By: stikman

stikman — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 23:35:00 +0000

All that artistic talent you have AND great insightful mind….this blows.
Oh and you get to hang out with cute chicks all the time.
Does life offer refunds?
hahahaa
xlnt post Nick.

By: Kurt Strecker

Kurt Strecker — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:48:13 +0000

“All this said, what are you doing to push your creative capabilities and expand your default?”
I’ve been learning to draw. It’s helped focus vision on tiny details. It’s helped me be more critical of compositional choices (it’s got to be a damn good composition if you’re going to spend an hour or more sketching it). It’s given me another creative outlet for times when I’m not at liberty to shoot, long plane/car rides. It’s increased my sense of design and graphic vocabulary.
Having been shooting and my concern for shading and light has given me an edge in this quest so it’s a really natural transition. Mostly it’s been training the muscles of the hand to do what the eye and brain tell it to do. It’s also sparked the imagination and upped the creative voltage in my life overall.
And, learning a new drawing medium is much cheaper than acquiring new photo equipment.