Always keep your eyes open
Casey Jr Train - Late Morning
On my photography journey, I have often struggled with maintaining my creativity. Whether it is due to my ADD or simply because I get caught up in whatever activity is at hand, there have been extended periods of time where I find myself…well, bored with photos. I realize part of it is a self-imposed limitation. By primarily taking photos of the same general locations(i.e. Disneyland and California Adventure), you are really imposing a strict constraint on what you can shoot. I mean, you can only take so many castle photos before you are ready to move on. However, I have discovered a trick to help me retain my inspiration.
(Yes, I realize an easy fix is to take photos in other places and of other things, but let’s move on from that for now.)
Dear reader, you may or may not know but my initial foray into the visual arts was through videography. Having grown up watching films, I took the first chance available to share what was in my mind via motion pictures. However, for a multitude of reasons, not really necessary for this short essay, I stopped creating. In fact, for several years, I did not pick up a camera at all. However, in the summer of 2019, I decided I would teach myself photography and create an Instagram account to share my work, mostly as a therapeutic way to relieve stress. That eventually became Q’s Trips. But, there was an additional aspect, a cinematic aspect, that continued to call to me. And it found its primary expression in two words: “Disney Zen.”
Disney Zen is basically what I call any video whose primary purpose is to capture the feeling of being in a Disney park. Ideally, it’s a particular spot that, within the first 30 frames, you are immediately transported to a specific location. For example, a classic location (my equivalent of the castle photo) is standing in Paradise Gardens in DCA, listening to the screams coming from both the Incredicoaster and the Pixar Pal-A-Round, enjoying the gentle Southern California breeze, as you watch the sun set behind the Pixar Place hotel. What just took me 36 words to describe could be represented in less than 3 seconds of video. And after realizing how fulfilling it was the first time I captured that moment, I decided to add that as a new component of my account. Thus the hunt began to find Disney Zen in the park, wherever I could.
On each subsequent trip, in addition to taking photos, I would also be on the hunt for places, moments, sounds which would transport the viewer. As I kept my eyes open to find those hidden video gems, something additionally wonderful happened. I began to see new opportunities for photography. I realized that, as it turns out, a rather large part of my boredom stemmed from not taking the opportunities to look at the world around me. Once I did, I quickly found more instances to capture that still image.
Which brings me to the photo above. That particular pic was taken while Jenn and I were waiting to board Casey Jr. Someone had asked for train zen and, because I am a bit extra, I thought it would be funny to get footage from every single train at Disneyland. We were queued up for a bit longer than normal because I wanted to shoot from the caboose, facing backward onto the track. As we stood there (for a LONG time), I noticed how it was possible to frame the Casey Jr logo on the train between the archways. And thus, the shot above came into being. It has rapidly become a favorite because it reminds me of the power of keeping your eyes open. After all, you never know what new opportunity will come chugging along down the track.