Sunday Edition: Stasia Schmidt

PHOTOSNACK #228

Every Sunday, I reach out to photographers previously featured on PHOTOSNACK and ask them to send me their spontaneous thoughts, observations, reflections, or advice.

Today, I am sharing with you the message I got from Stasia Schmidt.

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Stasia Schmidt

Stasia Schmidt - Icefall

Photography is noticing. Noticing what’s going on around me and noticing myself. What is the spark that ignites my creative fire? Sometimes, it’s a smell, a color, or a turn of phrase. Sometimes, it’s a feeling that turns into an electric anticipation telling me there’s magic in a scene. That’s what I notice when I’m out shooting and what I focus on.

The day I shot this image, the spark was all of the above. Ancient glacier ice is imbued with myriad tones of blue, and it smells of cold and rock and frost. “Ghost in the ice” was what continually echoed in my head while exploring underneath the toe of the glacier in a hollowed-out ice cave. I could feel the build-up of excitement that there was an image here for me to create, one that I would cherish if I could push toward finding it. Time was limited, simply due to the fact that it’s never safe to spend more time than needed under a glacier, and the snowshoe back was many kilometers, so I had to work quickly, relying on my instinct to compose and set up. Shedding outer gear to wear the ghost layers required concentration and a willingness to be cold (crampons easily snag in long fabric costumes, haha). But this was the spark; this was what I absolutely had to do to add to my “Ephemerality” self-portrait series. Unequivocally worth every cold second.

Following my creative spark has never led me wrong; feeding it with the fuel of my attention only makes it brighter, stronger, and easier to notice. So, when you’re out with your camera, notice what makes your creative soul thrum. It might not be what photographers around you are doing, and that’s wonderful. Go there. Notice what you’re drawn to. Indulge your creativity. That’s where the magic happens.

Stasia Schmidt was featured in PHOTOSNACK #181.
You can visit her website here.

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Sunday Editions connect you with photographers whose work you previously explored through PHOTOSNACK.

I want to reveal some authentic parts of the people behind the cameras.

I don’t ask them any specific questions. I ask them to share whatever comes to mind when they think about YOU, the readers of this newsletter.

It makes their responses genuine and personal.

I hope you enjoyed today's Sunday Edition.

Until next time,
Tomasz