Inertia; Your Friend And Your Photographic Enemy

Inertia can keep that photographic train running at full speed. (click to enlarge)
Norfolk and Western Railroad Steam Locomotive #611 at about 60mph in early 1980s.
Pentax 6X7, 90mm f/2.8 lens; 120 size Kodak Tri-X 400 film; shutter speed and aperture unknown

INERTIA:

"The property of matter by which it retains its state of rest or its velocity along a straight line so long as it is not acted upon by an external force."

First, to get in the right mindset, think exercise.  When you haven't exercised for a long while but you know you should, still you seem to have a hard time getting started again. Procrastination and excuse generation often come in to play. On the other hand, when you exercise regularly you tend to continue as you often feel guilty missing a day or several days.  Not only does guilt arise but you also know you feel better when you regularly exercising and you want to get back to it quickly.  In the context of the point I want to make, inertia keeps you from starting and inertia keeps you from stopping, so to speak.

How does this apply to your photography?  I'll tell you how it has applied to mine and you think if the same thing has applied to yours.

When I don't photograph for a while, usually a long while, either one of two things happen.  One, I get antsy.  Unsettled.  I feel I need to get out and photograph.  In fact, when I get out and photograph my mood changes dramatically.  Its like an itch that is finally scratched.  Whenever I get out and photograph, I feel much, much better.  I feel as though I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing.  Kind of like exercising.

However, the other thing that happens on occasion is that if I don't get out to photograph, I seem to continue to not get out to photograph.  I find other things to occupy my time.  Inertia sets in.  If I don't go out and photograph, I continue not to go out and photograph. 

In effect, I'm motionless and I tend to remain motionless unless some external stimulus gets me out there with a camera in my hands.  This can be dangerous as a lack of actively photographing seems to breed a continuing lack of photographing. Rust sets in, decay, loss of having that photographic edge and, I say if you don't use it often, you might even start to lose your vision or your ability to innovatively create. In any case, with me, if I don't get out to photograph often, I tend to get involved with activities other than photography and my photo skills start to suffer.

On the other hand, if I'm regularly out with my gear wandering and photographing, I find that I tend to get out even more often, for longer periods of time, in more places and tend to experiment and to get more creative in my work.  Photographs seem to come more easily.  Activity breeds activity.  I feel more creative and more satisfied with life in general.  Again, inertia kicks in and when I'm out and using my camera regularly, I go even more.

I don't know if the same things happen to you in photography or other aspects of your life.  But there is a danger in not regularly participating in an activity that you enjoy.  Inertia can set in and before you know it, lots of time has passed and that enjoyable activity has fallen by the wayside.  Be aware of inertia setting in and working against you.

Thanks for looking. Enjoy! 

Dennis A. Mook 

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