One of the “people” I often turn to when I need an inspirational boost is New Brunswick photographer Freeman Patterson. (http://www.freemanpatterson.com/)

Not in person of course, but his work. He has a way of capturing an “essence”, rather than a scene that constantly intrigues me. When I need to shrug off my own style and step outside the box, I head for the library and grab one of his books. Besides taking me away from the everday world, his books often tweak my creative streak and send me running for my camera.

Not only does his work inspire me to create, it inspires me to go back to the same places I usually haunt, and look at it with different eyes; closer in, tiny piece by tiny piece.

After one such library trip, I headed down to our local waterfront, determined to come back with something different. The result was two images of the same subject, but not two images the same.

Floaters and Natures Composition

The work that inspired these images is Freeman Patterson’s “Autumn’s Grace Notes” from his book “The Garden”

For an artist, inspiration can come from many places. More on the Art of Inspiration in our next issue.

J. Gracey Stinson