Looking at Life Through a Different Lens

As a left-brained person, I appreciate the need to work the right side of my brain.  Alas, I can never seem to summon the time and space for truly creative pursuits.  My blog is a form of creation but largely clinical and analytical.  When I play Scrabble or Sudoku online, it's a leisure pursuit but feels more like a workout for my head than an outlet for my creative side.  And exercise connects me to my body but is literally a form of physical maintenance.  

It's a question I ask my co-workers and colleagues all the time: what do you do for fun that is totally frivolous?  And I get a wide range of answers: reality TV, crochet, aromatherapy, guitar.  And I revel in these responses, and what they tell me about the other person.  But then I think in horror: what would my answer be?

I'm realizing I actually do have a response.  It's photography, usually of urban settings and urban objects.  

My sister and I used to hate my dad's obsession with picture-taking, since we'd have to pose for him or otherwise wait until he was done framing his shot perfectly.  Later in life, when I unknowingly engaged in some of the same behavior, I would laugh it off as stereotypically Asian or insist that I was documenting something for the benefit of my mom to say.  

I now accept that this is a creative outlet for me.  I like hunting for good shots, I like taking them, and I like doing the post-production work via filters on Instagram.  

Now, I don't know the first thing about photography itself - my dad did, but that knowledge about aperture size and film speed never made it to me - but even that is a good thing, because the pursuit isn't about getting better at something, it's simply about capturing and creating beauty.  

Now, the amount of time I spend on this creative release is quite fleeting.  I might pause for 30 seconds on my bike ride home to snap the downtown skyline, and then take another 30 seconds posting it on my social media.  I don't make separate trips or wait out the perfect time of day to capture a moment.  And, as noted above, I haven't yet read up on what makes for a good shot or what equipment might enhance my abilities, and I probably won't ever do so.  

But, I will likely keep snapping.  It isn't totally frivolous, as it connects me to a city I work in and study,  and helps me look at the things around me in literally a different lens.  But it is an utterly creative pursuit.  For once, the right side of my brain is being put to work.  And it feels good.