Well, I woulnd't say I'm totally past my block but I'm definitely on the right track. QLT thanks for the advice. I planned on starting each day with the exercise you recommended. Thought it'd be a good way to wake the grey matter. I thought about it all the way to work this morning (20 minute commute). I didn't even physically try the technique but I was already getting ideas for an upcoming daily (and as evidenced in Rockprinzess' thread).

Now I just have to make the time to get my contest chop done and in....

Reinman I hope you return to chopping yourself. You're two of the funniest guys here.





(yes I put "two" on purpose).

Awesome! And if Satan comes to you after me, I'll send you a copy of that book...threads merging with threads...whooooooo

I'm just coming off taking along break. It IS hard getting back into it. All summer long I would chop the daily source, no matter what. Someone gave me advice in chat... much like the link listed prviously. I will also go back over old contests looking at what others did... and notating the essense of what was done.. ie: perspective change, complete lighting change, transformation, etc... and choose one technique arbitrarily (of no inspiration) and think of it as just playing. Sometimes just doing fun stuff with my own pictures removes the "pressure" of wanting to produce. If all else fails... just enjoy other's work until you feel ready & inspired.

I don't have big problems with that, cause I've never been any good.

For me, chopper's block comes when I try to force an idea. When this happens, I listen to a high school talk radio program on a AM station. I get so bored out of my mind, it will clear all thoughts, and remind me how much I need to get out and do something else. Once I think of all the things I could be doing, it gets the creative thoughts flowing again, so I go back to the computer.

do a google image search for whatever your subject is, flip through them, something will usually come to mind. or look through photography sites or anything to make thoughts flow. I belive just doing it and not putting so much pressure on yourself to come up with the most brilliant idea out there.

There is a site called www.braingle.com with loads of mental exercises for cretive thinking/

it will come back to you when you "quit thinking you can't", because you know you can.

thats my two cents, hope this helps:)

Thanks tsitra! I've bookmarked that site to play with.

Sorry I almost always have an idea ... but I'm learning not to take the time for many of
them because I don't have the time to put into them

but I have used these ways to jog my brain when I get into one of my, "I'm going to post
a pic everyday this month" moods

tip 1
When I don't see anything in the daily pic I often turn it 90 degrees, flip it around,
reverse the image to see if something shouts out.

tip 2
I am also blessed with pretty bad nearsightedness so I take off my glasses and "see" if
I make out something in the pic that isn't there.

tip 3
Oh yeah, I have 10 gigs of pictures and art that I've collected from the net, if I pick
a category like movies or nature and just browse through the thumbnails I usuallly
come up with something. (kind of my own personal google)

hope this helps!

Sorry to dredge up an old thread. But I found this bit of advice on avoiding stagnation and it seems pretty good advice for overcoming chopper's block as well.

First, replace the chair at your desk with one of these babies (from HungFu), put the source image on the screen and stare at it untill all the blood rushes to your head, at the very moment you're ready to pass out, the idea will come to you. works every time

Oh sorry, I thought this was the Choppers Back thread...nevermind

How'd you know my back hurts for the last 4 days?

revert back to the first post....

4 way blotter

6 way trotter