Chase Jarvis is a Seattle-based photographer, whose blog I’m following (among others, I will have to come up with a list at some point) since he not only shares his thoughts on his commercial work and his experience but also allows us non-professionals to look into the mind of a professional photographer who is concerned about keeping his creativity and personal work on a high level. He came up with a list of 7 habits to spur creativity. Since I am in currently taking a break from my usual routine, diving into adventures in the United States, reading that list made me chuckle a little. Here is the checklist with my comments:

1. Get into adventures. I’m working on it.
2. Devour popular culture. Gimme the blogs!
3. Take pictures of things. Yes sir!
4. Scribble ideas. Gotta work on this one.
5. Share your ideas with others. That’s what blogs are for… right?
6. Ask Questions. Good one.
7. Listen. See below.

Well, as you can see from the picture that I’m randomly throwing out there (mmmmh oatmeal choc chip cookies freshly made by my dear friend Charlotte), I’m working on number 3 while I’m in the process of following advice number 1. What made me think the most, though, is that I literally crave for a community in which I can share my ideas, throw out questions and listen to the responses… Now you might think: You have a blog – why do you complain? Well, I guess, I’m an offline-kind-of-guy when it comes to exchanging thoughts that are supposed to bring your creativity to the next level. I like sitting down with a bunch of friends and coming up with hands-on solutions for challenges. Even better if these friends know what they are talking about. So what I really miss in this context is a larger group of people that are truly passionate about photography – hard to find these in my German home town, Darmstadt, though. If you’re out there, shoot me an email! And if nothing helps, I’ll have to go to the hotspots. The thought of moving to the United States for at least a while has been lingering in my mind for a while now.