Darkrooms Uncovered - Ronald Smeets

A peek into a photographer's mental creative darkroom

What does your creative ritual look like? Do you have specific habits or conditions that spark your creativity?

No not really, at least not that I'm aware of. But over the years I guess I do have trained my eyes and mind to notice more (photo) opportunities. Most of the time this goes unconsciously, but sometimes I catch myself thinking "hey, that's interesting!".

When you're feeling creatively blocked, what's your go-to method for breaking through?

Typically to stop worrying about it. At least try to. Any creative block I encounter often tends to be at photo editing stage, I just don't feel like sitting behind my computer all night to edit a massive backlog of photos. When I pick up my camera and head out, I rarely have any issues :) So, I'm working to get it "right in camera" so I can limit the editing process - that should help.

Describe a moment when your creative perspective shifted dramatically. What triggered it?

I don't think there has be a particular moment that my creative perspective really shifted. Besides maybe a shift in the scenes/subjects I photograph? But this happened over time, not at a particular moment.

What recurring themes or elements do you find yourself naturally drawn to capture?

Anything goes! When I look at my digital catalog I see that I like cityscapes, landscapes, seascapes, fog/mist, trees and moody atmospheres. But I also notice that I like to capture street signs, things that seem out of place, human elements in nature, reflections in mirrors. I don't know if there is a recurring theme, but I haven't found it yet :)

What non-photographic influences (books, music, films, etc.) most impact your work?

My daytime job! I work in engineering, where typically you have to follow a certain way of work (laws of physics, electronic and mechanical rules, that kind of stuff), otherwise things simply don't work. In photography I can let that go and just do whatever I want! No rules!

What photograph of yours feels most personally revealing, and why?

I really do not have one specific photograph that would answer that question. I'll attach one from 'The Shadow Of The Photographer' article I posted here on Substack): It shows my shadow photographing something mundane that for some reason still caught my eye and where I thought: "hey, that's interesting!"

Find out more about Ronald Smeets

Website: https://ronaldsmeets.info

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