The Nature Of Creativity

Bamburgh-Dawn
Defining Creativity
What is creativity? It's a term widely used in the photographic world but one that is open to a variety of interpretations & definitions. So before I can write an article on the topic I ought to clarify what I mean when I use the word.
A simple dictionary definition gives us "characterised by originality of thought; having or showing imagination" (taken from the Collins Concise English Dictionary). When I talk of creativity in the context of photography I have in mind the production of a photograph that moves beyond a pictorial record of a subject. In other words a photograph that is more than a simple representation of what the eye has seen and, most importantly, one that reflects the photographers unique vision of the world.
And I believe the essential element that lifts a photograph beyond the simplistic level of a snapshot to something more creative, artistic & personal is when it is founded upon a thought, idea, concept or emotion. Without...