My friends know that I love reading books more than anything else. I have the capacity to read at a fantastic speed, yet, I haven’t been able to read a single word since the last two months. Writers call it writer’s block, so I suppose readers can call it reader’s block.
However, the thing about my reader’s block, is that this feeling of disinterest permeated into every other aspect of my creative life. Photography got hit by this reader’s block in the worst way. I found myself incapable of picking up my cellphone or camera and making a picture, something that, over the years, was a habit. It was almost as if I were a horse, with blinders around my eyes, blissfully ignoring the world around me.
Now, the nature of my work is such that I am constantly surrounded by photographers, photography and photographic gear… how can I possibly go on without having the urge to shoot? I understood that it was time for a mental reset, which is what I did yesterday.
A mental reset is what I define as the feeling of pressing the restart button on your computer… and boy, did I need a reboot. What always gives me peace of mind is actually a feeling of nothingness, of emptying my mind as best I can and starting all over again. I find it easy to do when I am by myself, with my own company, listening to music and taking a long walk along Marine Drive, Mumbai. And just like that, I become okay. I was able to shoot a lot of pictures yesterday, and on my way to work today, I was seeing instead of just watching. I suppose the mental reset has worked. How do you like to get back into the swing of things when you have your own creative blocks? Do email me and let me know!
This article originally appeared in the September 2015 issue of Better Photography.