We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Christopher Chain a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Christopher, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
Sometimes I go through old photos and see what I like or dislike about the photos. I will then go out and try to retake them. Or I might try a new style of editing. Social media also plays a role in my creativity. I look at what others have done and try to put my own creative spin on a style of photography that I see.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’ve been really interested with taking photos for about the last seven or eight years. It started out with just taking pictures on my phone when I would go on a hike or vacation. I got my first camera and just remember how much more control of the style I had over the photos I was taking. I was going to the San Diego zoo a lot and started taking pictures of the animals. That’s when I really started getting into it. I would take my camera on hikes and look for wildlife. That’s what really started my love for photography.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
When I started it was something I really enjoyed doing. I think that’s probably the most important thing to remember. Do it because you enjoy doing it. Just like anything your skills will improve the more you do it. You might fail along the way but that will only increase your knowledge on how to improve.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
Sometimes stepping away is the best thing you can do. Come back and look at it with fresh eyes. Surround yourself with other people on your team that are like minded in the goals you are.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @mrchanman
- Facebook: Christopher Chain
