For me, finding themes for new projects is relatively easy. Ideas are especially fond of introducing themselves while I'm exploring new places or reading a good book. Much harder is figuring out if I can actually pull it off. Lots of projects that seemed viable at first fizzled after a few frustrating months.
Fortunately, Arthur Meyerson (friend, mentor and great photographer) identified six key criteria to consider before launching a new project. This simple checklist has spared me endless wasted hours and disappointments.
Questions to ask:
1. Is it visual?
2. Is it practical? Accessible? Affordable?
3. Is the subject something I know about?
4. Is the subject interesting to others?
5. Is there enough enthusiasm and curiosity for the effort (planning, travel, shooting, editing, presentation)?
6. Is there a theme, continuity and consistency?
If the answer to any of these questions is no, then it's wise to keep exploring or at least give it some more thought.
Waterlines
This week's photo is from "Waterlines" -- the first series I started with Arthur's guidelines in mind. You can read about the project and see all the images here:
From the get-go, the answers were all "yes" (well, except for question 4 which turned out to be "yes" when people responded positively to the series some time later). I still have lots of project ideas floating around in my head but thanks to Arthur can (mostly) focus on those that at least have a chance of seeing the light of day.