Such a fertile time this is… Several dear friends are about to give birth, and creative births are happening everywhere I look.

This new mix, “Mother Nature,” I made specifically to honor, support, encourage, and offer an acoustic temple for all births, literal and metaphorical.

Make the jump to Soundcloud for the setlist, for links to purchase the individual tracks on iTunes, and to make comments on the timeline, if you wish. Please share the love and support the original artists by purchasing their tracks, if you like their music.

Enjoy, and happy birthing to all…

I’m proud to have contributed my work to this reel, and am excited about Blend’s strong entry into the stock footage market.

If you have experience producing HD footage

Two great shocks happened today, which inspire this post – both deaths. The first was the tragic death of someone in my extended creative community, a photographer of the old school who was having a very hard time adjusting to the massive changes in our industry (including the commodification of photography and the subsequent decline in his income). The second death was of a vision that I have been building in collaboration with a number of fellow artists, which was killed by sudden blindside. Recently, there have been other deaths as well, friends of friends. Suffice it to say, this is a very intense time, which has stopped me in my tracks and caused me to reflect with all sincerity and humility on the subject of death.

Whether literal or metaphorical, death always comes as a huge shock for which we can never be fully prepared. This is true even when it is expected, and usually, death seems to come when least expected, often as a dramatic blindside. I write not to complain about death or to bemoan that it happens, but rather to share a very different view. I feel that death can be the most powerful clarifying force in life… that is, if we allow it to be. Death – in all its forms (in the death of a loved one or colleague, in a life-threatening prognosis, in the death of a vision that you’ve been trying to build with all your might) – enables us to see with great clarity what is truly important in life. Death helps us become aware that our time here on this planet is not unlimited, that all of our days are numbered, and therefore, that what we do each day (and each moment), has great importance. Awareness of death is the most powerful antidote to the ADD-inclination of our hyper-networked, consumption-focused society. [And if this is not true of society, I see how it is true of myself, and I also see how these inclinations dissipate in the awareness of death.] Put simply, as long as death doesn’t take us out, it offers an opportunity to deepen, clarify, and align our experience of life.

I see nothing morbid about this. There is neither gloom nor doom in this awareness. Actually, what I experience is liberation. Liberation from patterns of thought and behavior that do not serve one’s ultimate life purpose. Liberation form the struggle of trying to make things work that just won’t work (no matter how hard we try)… the radical liberation that empowers us to truly “follow your bliss,” as Joseph Campbell wisely advised us all to do.

Nor do I feel that we need to be philosophers, like Socrates, to embrace and benefit from this awareness of death. What does it mean to “make dying (our) profession”? First and foremost, I feel it is to experience this liberation and clarification of our lives catalyzed by awareness of death. To reflect upon, to stand naked before, and to reaffirm with all the power of our being our true life’s purpose. If we are able to do this not only during dramatic days, such as today, when death gets our faces, but if we’re able to do this on a consistent basis, then I feel that death and life reveal how profoundly inter-related and mutually-dependent they are, and in the process, we are given an opportunity to profoundly, humbly, powerfully, and radically align with life, with death, and with that which is far greater than ourselves. And this leads to the mystery beyond all words and description…

Fortunately, there’s a plugin that does almost all of the work for you. It’s called “Facebook Like Button.” The easiest way to set it up is to login to your Wordpress admin panel, go to Plugins / Add New, and search for it by name. It’s the first one that shows up, which looks like this:

Install the plugin, and then you’ll find a “Facebook Like” section in your admin sidebar. You’ll need to click this and configure the plugin in order for it to work. Under “General Settings,” you’ll see “AppID for XFBML version:” _______________ If you don’t already have a Facebook App Developer ID, it only takes about a minute to get one… which you can do by clicking the “Don’t Have One?” link. Follow the link, enter your name and URL, and you’ll get an App ID. Once you’ve got it, return to your Wordpress plugin configuration page and enter that ID in this blank.

As for the rest of the settings, you’re welcome to copy these settings (shown below) which work well for me, or configure them to your liking:

All in all, pretty simple!

If you have any questions, post them in the comments, and I’ll do my best to answer them.

In closing, you’ll see the “Like” button in action just below this line. If you’ve found this post helpful, please give some “Like” love there…

Richard Allen Crook used Magic Bullet Looks and Adobe Premiere to achieve these effects.

Are you working with the Canon 5D Mark II? If so, check out this post about dialing your settings and other factors to ensure optimal recording quality.

Here’s an example of this in action, by the folks over at 3DVIA, who make a free PS plugin that enables you to ingest their 3D content straight into Photoshop:

Now even the sky is no limit…

PS – Here’s a link to 3DVIA’s Facebook page.

“Creativity is a discontinuous, non-algorithmic quantum jump from one pattern of thinking into a completely new one.

“It is a quantum leap – from one pattern to another without progressing through incremental steps in between. All great creative advances in the world’s of art, music, architecture, or science represent new leaps of imagination that could not have been predicted on the basis of the prevailing patterns.

“Once the creative leap is made, be it Einstein’s theory of relativity, Picasso’s cubism, or music by the Beatles, the world is forever changed…”

- Amit Goswami, author of “Quantum Creativity”

Of course, conceptual descriptions can only go so far in describing a process that is innately non-conceptual… perhaps even instinctual. Whether or not I happen to feel creative, none of us is ever far from the elemental creativity that created the universe, because each of us is a unique expression of this. Although this is perfectly obvious, this awareness can also be perfectly elusive sometimes. So whether or not we happen to feel creative at a given moment, the important thing for all creatives is to keep our creative tools close and to practice frequently, so that when the creative energies start to build, we’re able to grab our favorite tools and be carried off by them – beyond ourselves and our preconceived ideas and intentions – and carried into the the current of the creative force, off into the creative unknown.

Today’s post by Seth Godin neatly ties into this topic of the barrier- and category-leaping nature of creativity, although he shifts the focus from the creative process to the leap required to actually ship our creative products. This part of the equation is very important, and all creatives would benefit by paying attention to it… particularly those who are just getting into the swing of consistently shipping their creativity out into the world. I suggest checking out his post. He talks about leaping beyond the need for support to ship our world-changing art.

[One of my favorite lines from his recent awesome book (which I highly recommend), "Linchpin," is something to the effect of, "Don't just be an idea person. Be an idea-shipping person."]

Back to the quantum creative force. I openly confess to being madly in love with and passionately devoted to this. And so here’s an attempt to give visual expression to this force, which I feel created and sustains the universe, of which we are intimate and essential parts:

If you’d like to continue to explore the subject of creativity with me, check out “Creative Powerhouse.” Who’s a creative powerhouse? You are. [More about this after the jump.]

The Adobe Experience Design department is conducting exploratory research to learn about the technologies that photography professionals and enthusiasts are using for their workflows. We need your help to continue to grow and produce products that are what our customer demographics need and want.

This research study will be a conversation with the participant about their technology use and what they would like from products in the future to support their professions and hobbies. These conversations will take roughly 90 minutes to 2 hours and participants will be compensated for their time.

To determine qualification for this study, we have created a survey screener to help us quickly obtain information about your work and technology use. If you are interested in being reviewed for participation, please complete the survey located at the link below.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/phototech

Thanks!

Petra Uebel, User Research Recruiter

Adobe Systems, Inc.

I’m looking forward to the opportunity to tell the folks at Adobe the many things I love about Photoshop and Creative Suite, and those things that I feel could use improvement, such as the gradient tool. If you’d like to do the same, follow the link and join the conversation.

On a related note, trial downloads of CS5 Production Premium just became available. Downloading mine now… Click here for other trial versions.

Update:

I’m headed in to Adobe’s headquarters today to see them demo the new features of Photoshop CS5. I’ve been using it for a few days now, and I find the upgrade to be truly amazing… full of great new features, many of which I have yet to put to use. If you’re on the fence about whether to upgrade or not, I strongly suggest going for it.

Those words chilled me for a second, because of course, I’ve had the same thought. Why should anyone else care what I think? This touches that vulnerable, insecure place that I’ll bet everyone who has ever written anything in any format – digital, paper, or stone tablet – has experienced at some point… (and most likely, at many points – myself included).

Why should anyone care what you think?

I know why.

It’s something that’s perfectly obvious… so obvious, in fact, that it’s almost made invisible by how obvious and pervasive it is. People should care about what you think because you’re a frikkin’ creative powerhouse.

Realizing this obvious yet elusive fact was simplified by the fact that my friend who told this story is obviously a creative powerhouse. Which brings up another truth: It can be much easier to recognize virtues in others than it can be to really, truly recognize them within ourselves. Whether consciously or not (and usually it’s not), externalizing our inner experience is one of those things that we all tend to do. When I’m happy, whether it’s raining, shining, or hailing, everything is beautiful, luminescent, musical. When I’m upset, even a beautiful day can be annoying or gloomy. But I digress.

Back to the part about you being a creative powerhouse. What do you think or feel when you hear this? Are you thinking, “Yeah right.” Or “Bullshit.” Or, “You don’t even know me.” Or are you able to find how it’s true?

I say that you’re a creative powerhouse with absolute confidence – even if I don’t know you personally – because this is part of who we all are, at our essence. People don’t learn how to be creative. Any child will show you that this is true. Children – and all people – are naturally, innately creative. No, we don’t learn how to be creative. Sadly, tragically, we learn how to not be creative. Once that lesson has been learned, The Matrix has you. Our true nature becomes obscured by successive layers of illusion, apparent limitations, and distracting attempts to self-soothe ourselves out of the pain caused by this separation. As this separation replicates itself in the billions of psyches in our world, the net result is the generalized dislocation from essence that characterizes the dysfunctions of modern society. This is the problem. The solution, as I see it, isn’t to try to make society more soulful. The solution is for each of us to reconnect with the truth of our own beings, to tune into this, and to follow this.

It helps to have allies in this process… particularly when there’s so much evidence to convince us that we’re inadequate and that we need to compensate for this with profligate consumption.

It helps to have allies in this process… and my intention in writing this is to be one of your allies, reminding you of your true, radiant, infinitely creative nature.

If you’re still doubting the truth of this statement, let’s take a little thought experiment. Imagine yourself lying on your deathbed for a moment, having lived your life in two ways. In the first way, you lived your life with the recognition that your true nature was infinitely creative, and that the creativity of the universe expressed itself through you (and through everyone). In the second way, imagine yourself never having challenged your inherited stories of personal deficiency and limitation. Which life would you prefer to have lived?

I’m not saying that any of this is easy. I’ve spent more than a decade working on cultivating my creativity, and I struggle with it, one way or another, every single day. But this kind of struggle feels fruitful and significant and real, whereas the other struggle – trying to live with the shrill, unexamined beliefs in my own inadequacy – is nothing but depleting and demoralizing.

So let this be a reminder, a mirror of the creativity that lives within you, of which your very being is an expression of, from which you have never been separate (other than in your thinking). You’re a total creative powerhouse.

Feel it. Be it. And when you’re ready… share it. You and me both. This life is precious, and fleeting. Our candles burn brightly, but only for so long. So bring it!

PS – This exploration of creativity continues in a related post, “Quantum Creativity.”

Words simply don’t suffice to describe this experience. Below is the visual record of my journey through this enchanting, surprising, mesmerizing otherworld.

To Navigate: Click on any thumbnail bring up the full-size image and gallery viewer. Navigate through the gallery by either clicking anywhere on the right or left half of the large image, or by using the right and left arrows on your keyboard.

The first six images are of Stellamara, who will be performing there again this year.

The next Labyrinth of Jareth will be in LA on July 16th and 17th, 2010. Click here for more info.