Something has been amiss lately—the thoughts in my mind that everything I create have to be perfect before I release it to the world stifled my creativity and I realised I had felt out of love with photography and videography. The constant overthinking of every little detail stiffeled my joy for creating.
Social media can sometimes make me feel like every little detail of the things you publish has to be perfect, You have to show The perfect grid and photos, use the perfect sounds, and write the perfect words. And the perfectionism eluded the joy of creating. So this summer I decided to try take a break from my perfectionism and get my creative park back.
I decided to do things different. I realised I needed a tool that wouldn’t allow me to obsess over perfect settings or flawless images to bring the joy back. So, instead of using my big and expensive cameras like the Sony A7C or my Canon 5D III, I choose the inexpensive Canon IXUS 40, from the early 2000s to bring with me almost everywhere I went.
It’s definitely an outdated digicam, but something about the simplicity drew me in.
The camera (Canon IXUS 40)
I wasn’t sure what to expect of the Canon IXUS 40. At first, using this camera was a bit strange, but then something unexpected happened: I stopped caring so much about the final image. Instead, I started savouring the process. The joy I found was the simplicity of a point and shoot camera that helped me snapping pictures of things I would have overlooked— my morning tea cups, insects that landed on me, birthdays and family. All raw and candid. And as summer went, the more creative I felt. And slowly, I was starting to fall back in love with photography again.
Camera Specs:
The Digital IXUS 40 is an ultra compact digital camera with Photo and Video Capturing, announced in 2004 by Canon.
- 4 megapixel sensor.
- 3 x Optical Zoom 5.8-17.4mm
- Apature f2.8-4.9
- Maximum resolution: 2272 x 1704.
- The default movie setting is 640 x 480 pixels at 30fps
- LCD screen and still has an optical viewfinder.
So did I find my creativity, and let go of my perfectionism?
Yes, I can definitely say that I let go of my perfectionism and found my love and joy for photography, and videography again.
This experiment taught me that creativity isn’t about perfection. It’s the opposite, it’s about letting go of perfection, and finding joy in the process.
The Canon IXUS 40 was the perfect camera for me this summer. It was small enough to fit in my pocket and I could bring it with me everywhere. I could just snap a picture and then be done with it and the embracing the moments.
In the end, it isn’t about the perfect images — it’s about finding joy in the process, in the unpolished and unexpected. As our lives are — raw and unpolished. I hope that this is something I will continue to remember going forward on my creative journey.
