Every month the feature 10 photographer’s portfolios on the home page of their website. It’s a rotating slide show showing one image and the photographer’s name. You can then click on the image and be taken to their PhotoServe Portfolio.

It’s a great honor as there are a ton of photographers on this site most of which are extremely talented.

PhotoServe Portfolio of the Month - JFennell Photography

How to Be Creative

If you have a minute or three read the article (what I’m discussing will make more sense).

I’ve been seeing more and more articles and discussions lately on this topic. Basically there are a lot of people and studies conducted in which people are saying that creativity is indeed an acquired skill that takes work and practice to develop as opposed to something you are born with.

Then how does one explain these child prodigies or people that just seem to naturally come up with amazing creative creations?

There is something to be said however that practice, study and exploration into ones creative mind fuels creativity. I think of myself as a creative person but also know that I have to work at it. Or one could say that participating in creative endeavors allows the creative mind to work more freely and also feeds the soul (creative soul anyway).

I believe people (anyone) can develop and harness creativity with work, practice and determination. Those people that say “I’m just not creative” or “I wish I was creative” can be, I’ve seen it. They may not be able to paint a Picasso but creativity comes in many forms. There’s creativity not only in music, art, crafts and photography but also in problem solving. Thinking outside the box is being creative. Thinking of new ways to do business or even entertain is being creative. Changing ingredients in a dish you are cooking to spice it up a little is being creative. Thinking of new varietals of wine to blend together, or new ingredients to brew beer with is also being creative. Just because it doesn’t work or tastes like crap doesn’t mean the creative process wasn’t unleashed from ones brain. Most “creatives” aren’t successful all of the time but you don’t get those “Eureka” moments without trial and error. This in my opinion should give hope to those persons who “aren’t creative”.

Personally based off of my own experiences and articles I’ve read, I think that there’s a combination in what is referred to as “learned” or “innate”. However I also believe that some people aren’t necessarily born more creative but have the ability to access more easily that creative process. They are perhaps more in tuned to that part of the brain and it comes more easily or without as much practice so to speak of. Not that they’re born with it, we are all born with it, their brains are just able to harness it quicker. Where as others can produce and come up with creative ideas but need to put more into fueling that creative process.

I know when I put forth efforts and have experiences that would be considered creative it fuels my creativity, even in other arenas. For example if I participate in doing something creative, not related to photography, (painting or music which I am not very good at) I then notice that my photography benefits from the creative process that my brain is engaging in. It’s like my mind has opened and things start flowing and I come up with ideas I wouldn’t have normally considered.

When creativity is actively pursued anyone can benefit from and harness it. For some it may be a slower process and you may not be pleased with the results right away but keep at it, not only will you feel content inside but whatever you are working at, your results will improve. Until one day you look back at your old stuff and say “Wow I’ve come a long way”. So for all you non self believers out there, give it a shot. What do you have to lose? FUN?

Just my thoughts…

JFennellPhoto.com

When the swell finally arrived it did not disappoint. It perhaps wasn’t as big as some people anticipated but definitely brought some fun decent sized waves.

Here are some photos from that day.

Hospitals Wave Sunrise La Jolla, California

Big Rock Wave La Jolla, California

Black's Beach Wave Late MorningEvening Glass off at Black's Beach

Line up shot of the surf at Black's during evening glass off

To see more images from this swell Click Here

JFennellPhoto.com

BMX Supercross World Cup

Current World Champion Joris DAUDET from France

Winner of the Race and new World Champion Connor Fields

Austrailian Female Rider

There were some crazy crashes as speeds of 35mph and big jumps were involved

The starting gate is at the top of the large black Swatch wall in the background. Where they get up to about 35mph setting up for the first jump.

More Carnage and Crashes

Connor Fields on his way to victory and New World Title. Look at the victims of a crash behind him in the lower left corner.

Raymon VAN DER BIEZEN from the Netherlands who came in Second.

Supercross World Cup of BMX Podium. USA took 1st and 3rd. 1st Connor FIELDS, 2nd Raymon VAN DER BIEZEN, 3rd David HERMAN.

Here is a link to the magazine’s website and the article with images.

http://bmxatope.com/category/2049

You won’t however be able to read it unless you speak Spanish.

www.JFennellPhoto.com

I thought I would post a few photos I shot from last year, just to peak the anticipation a little.

Kelly Slater doing what he does best

"Davo" (Chris Davidson)

Dane Reynolds Launching. This is by far one of the biggest airs I've seen in person. The photo doesn't quite do it justice as seeing it in real life.

Adriano de Souza throwing out his tail.

Taj Burrow busting a backside air.

Surfer Julian Wilson on left.

Kelly Slater inside section air. I like how in this photo the guy on the jet ski in the back ground is snapping photos at the same time of the same thing but totally different angle.

Mick Fanning letting his fins loose.

Jordy Smith with a nice fan.

Taj Burrow getting ready for a frontside snap.

Sunset in Sedona Arizona

We were lucky enough to arrive in Sedona right at sunset. I captured this right off the side of the road.

Grand Canyon Sunset

We went on this great hike in Sedona which put us a little behind schedule but we were able to race to the Grand Canyon and make it just in time for sunset.

Grand Canyon Sunset

From the Grand Canyon we drove to Page, Arizona to spend the night. The next morning I woke up for sunrise to shoot Horseshoe Bend.

Just to give you perspective if you’ve never been there before that white trail in the water to the bottom left is a boat and it’s wake driving down the river.

I had a scary moment at Horseshoe Bend that morning. I was walking on the uneven rocks in my hiking boots and tripped. I wasn’t anywhere near the ledge with the 1000′ drop off (however far it is, not sure exactly but it’s far) luckily. However I did manage to fall off of a 3′ or 4′ ledge and in the process got twisted in the air and knew I was going to land hard. Falling towards the hard rocks hip first all I could think was NOOOOOOOOOOO as I saw my tripod and camera sailing through the air towards the rocks. I hit so hard I couldn’t walk for about 5 minutes (ended up having a huge purple bruise covering my left hip). Expecting the worst I edged over to my camera thinking I would find the lens snapped of the body or a shattered front element of the $2000 24mm tilt shift (pc-e) lens I had attached.

To my  amazement everything looked fine. I was thinking to myself “how…? what…? No Way!!!”. After closer inspection it turns out that the L-bracket I had attached to my camera body (used to quickly attach to your tripod in either horizontal or vertical position) took the brunt of the impact. Right on the bottom corner of the L the camera hit the rocks. In fact it hit so hard it actually bent the L Bracket 1/2 an inch. Quite something considering they are machined from aluminum. Camera equipment and lens were fine and functioning.

L-Bracket

After breakfast back at the hotel in Page we were off to Antelope Canyon to see the slot canyons.

These have been photographed a lot, and for good reason they are absolutely beautiful.

Antelope Canyon

Antelope Canyon

Antelope Canyon

Antelope Canyon

Antelope Canyon

The following day we headed West towards Utah for our next leg. We were headed to “The Wave” in North Coyote Buttes” Wilderness area. This was the place that spawned this whole trip. The Wave is basically a crazy rock formation that is actually petrified sand dunes. It’s in the middle of nowhere and you can only go to see it if you have a permit. BLM only give out 20 hiking permits per day to go there. 10 they give out 3 months ahead of time via lottery (which is how we got ours). The other 10 they give out the day before in person only again via lottery system.

Once you get your permit you still have to get there. It’s a fairly rough dirt road for 7 or 8 miles to where you park. Then you have to hike about 3.5 miles one way with no marked trails over loose rocks, sand and hard sandstone rocks. Map and compass skills are a definite plus unless you have a hand-held GPS. A little over halfway on our hike it started snowing HARD!!! My wife wanted to turn around “it’s like a blizzard out here they’re going to find my frozen popsicle body out here, this is not safe!!!” Oh did I mention she was 3 1/2 months pregnant? Somehow I convinced her to keep going, something like “I checked the radar before we left and it’s going to blow over in no time”.

Click image to view larger

The snow definitely made it more difficult to navigate because it turned everything white it all started looking the same. We did manage to find our way and as soon as we hiked the last hill. Which by the way is a sand dune on the side of a steep hill and while slightly wet and covered with snow made it a little challenging or should I say tiring. No sooner than we got to the top than lo and behold the sun broke through the clouds and the snow stopped!!! Of course I turned to my wife and said “see I told you it was just blowing over”. She still wasn’t buying my in-depth Meteorologist skills.

Entrance to the Wave

THE WAVE

The sun came out and there was still snow on the ground. I was extremely excited because I personally haven’t seen any pictures of “The Wave” with snow (I’m sure they’re out there).

North Coyote Buttes

The Wave

Melted snow later in the day

After an exciting day and one to always remember we were off once again. Tomorrow’s destination Zion National Park.

Zion National Park

Zion National Park Waterfalls

If you look closely there are actually 4 waterfalls in the photograph (might be harder to see with this size image).

Heading back to San Diego we made a pit stop in Las Vegas for a night then back home to Sunny San Diego. I believe we did 1800 miles in 8 days and saw many great places. I was amazed at how much we were able to fit in. It definitely helped planning everything out ahead of time and the best routes to take. Until the next adventure enjoy.

www.JFennellPhoto.com