Time for self-reflection

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Wintertime, a time of dark, cold, windy and wet days, is not always much fun for heading out with your camera.

What it might be a good time for is looking through your collection of photos from the past year. A kind of moment of self-reflection. Looking back before moving on.

For example, I have been saying for a very long time that I want to make a moodboard. Or a vision board. But I never got any further than saying it.

Until now. With a week off ahead, rainy days and obligatory cocooning time, I decide to make a serious effort.

A moodboard is a collection of images, texts, fonts, fabrics and/or other materials that reflects your "mood" and inspires you with new ideas and insights. It is often used in fashion and styling and has an artistic purpose.

It helps if you think of a kind of theme beforehand for what you want to use it for. For example, to explore a specific use of colour, patterns, landscapes, silhouettes, art and so on in photography.

You can also use it to let an idea mature and develop further, known as concept planning.

For this first time, I am not looking for anything specific, just what I find beautiful and what sparks my interest. So I am purely going by the feeling, or mood, that speaks to me.

I get my files down from the attic, stuffed full of countless magazines. Issues from as many as 15 years ago and photography magazines that no longer even exist today. Yes, I really do keep far too much.

With that moodboard in the back of my mind, I put them to one side. Now I just have to get used to the fact that the scissors will soon be going in.

Eventually I have a nice pile of magazines: Flow, Happinez, Roots and various photography magazines. On a drizzly Sunday afternoon, I clear the dining table, pick up a pair of scissors and start browsing, cutting and tearing.

About ten magazines later, I have around 40 cuttings lying on the table in front of me. I start moving and sorting them by colour, feeling, atmosphere, structure and type of image.

Gradually, a patchwork of images emerges. Unexpectedly, this gives me an overview and insight at the same time.

At the end of the afternoon, the tangible moodboard of all the cuttings that I currently feel drawn to is lying on the table in front of me. It is as if my thoughts and ideas have been laid out on the table.

The colour palette that has emerged is what appeals to me most. After that, my interest turns to textures and my fascination with surreal images.

Together, they create a distinctly moody atmosphere. With shades ranging from grey-green to indigo blue, as well as earth tones and a hint of gold.

I feel satisfied that I have finally finished this. Unexpectedly, it gives my photography a fresh impulse.

Crafting with paper, scissors and glue is great fun and relaxing to do, and it stimulates your playful and creative mind.

If you would like to browse the internet first, there is plenty to find about creating moodboards. There are apps and dedicated websites for it.

Pinterest is probably the best known. There are also various moodboard apps. Perhaps you have had a good experience with one of them? Let us know and share it with the Photofacts community.

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