Finding inspiration in unlikely places

Inspiration doesn’t always show up the way you think it will. At least, not for me. I used to wait around for it to strike like lightning. Some perfect image. Some sudden idea. Some jolt of clarity that would make everything make sense. But more often than not, inspiration shows up in smaller, stranger ways. It hides in the stuff we overlook. It whispers instead of shouting.

I’ve found inspiration in bad lighting. In peeling paint. In old motel rooms. In the way someone holds their cigarette, or folds their shirt. Sometimes it’s in silence. Or in a song I haven’t heard in years. The kind of stuff that would feel like nothing if I wasn’t paying attention. But when I am, it’s everything.

As a photographer, especially in the world of male erotic art, I’ve learned that inspiration isn’t always about beauty. Sometimes it’s about tension. Or texture. Or the feeling you get when something is almost ugly, but not quite. The mundane stuff. The forgotten stuff. That’s where I go looking now.

The truth is, most of the time I don’t feel inspired. But I show up anyway. I shoot anyway. And somewhere in the process, the spark shows up too. Not like lightning. More like a slow burn. And that burn is usually better. It lasts longer. It’s the actual pulse of what the story being told is. If you plan too far ahead you detach yourself from the present.

So if you’re in a rut, if you’re scrolling through Instagram thinking you have nothing new to say – look away from the screen. Go outside. Look at the mess in your room. Look at your hands. Look at what light does at 5:30 in the evening. That’s where your next photo might be hiding.

Finding inspiration in unlikely places means staying open. It means letting your curiosity lead you. Even if it leads you somewhere weird or quiet or small. Especially if it does.