Creativity

As a photographer, educator, and lifelong learner, I’ve spent years exploring how people grow creatively—what leads to lasting improvement, not just surface-level results. One idea that has shaped both my personal practice and the way I teach is the concept of deliberate practice—something I first encountered in the book Peak by psychologist Anders Ericsson. Deliberate…

I received an email recently asking if my emphasis on composition and visual design could potentially take the fun out of photography for someone who values a more “free-flowing” and spontaneous approach. I realized that perhaps I had given the impression that my own approach to photography was regimented and structured in this way. If…

A recent discussion about mindfulness with a friend and student got me thinking about the immense influence it’s had on my own work. The single most important lesson it’s taught me is that what matters most isn’t my images, but my experience. Put another way, the inner landscape is more important than the outer one. You can’t control…

As a new year approaches, one of my favorite ways to stay motivated is to create a list of potential projects to work on. From that list, I pick the ones that excite or challenge me the most and commit to them for the short-term future. This approach isn’t just about staying busy—it’s about your…

When I think about curiosity, I think of two famous people who exemplified curiosity in their daily lives: Albert Einstein and Leonardo Da Vinci. In his fantastic biography of Leonardo, Walter Isaacson says: “Leonardo’s relentless curiosity and experimentation should remind us of the importance of instilling, in both ourselves and our children, not just received…