For the last couple weeks I have been travelling around Canada with camera in hand.

Earlier this year I had travelled to New Zealand with the intention to film the scenery and create a film from the footage. During the time I was travelling mostly on a tour bus, stopping off at locations for only 5 minutes maximum to take the same pictures everyone else was taking of the spectacle we had stopped at. Don't get me wrong, the views and scenes were lovely and I got some great footage, but I felt very uninspired to create a film out of it. There was no theme to latch onto and the footage wasn't really coming together in my mind as a complete film. It left me only getting my camera out because I had to, not because I wanted to. 

Back to Canada - I have been here for just over two weeks now. I spent my first week driving around the Alberta Rockies. Similar to New Zealand, the scenery was stunning, but this time, I could stop when and where I wanted and even stick my camera out of the window of the car a fair few times (almost dropping it in the process, just don't tell my insurance company!). My inspiration wasn't limited to just key tourist places, I was able to find inspiration from the freedom that the trip gave.

Getting my camera out became something I was looking forward to doing, which is the way it should be! There were no time restrictions, nothing was really planned, filming just became a natural and enjoyable process. Because of this, I found myself coming up with lots of new film ideas and filming techniques. When you're in an environment where your mind goes auto pilot with filming, things start to become clearer and more enjoyable. I guess you could say it has helped me connect with my creative muse (at the risk of sounding too much like a hippy! :D)

I guess the main point of this blog is to say enjoy what you do, get lost in your work and great things will come of it.

 

P.s. More information to come on the shots I have been filming and the films I intend to make when I get back home!