By Brad Beckstrom
I’d been working in marketing and advertising for 30 years, but still felt like I’d never really created anything. Sure, I’d produced events, created new products, award-winning campaigns, promotions, even new agencies. These all had something in common, they existed solely to promote products. These creations included logos, brand imagery, engaging copy, but they really belonged to the products they were promoting more than the person or teams who worked on them. It was time for me to step back and start creating again. Creating, like I was back in school, telling stories and taking photos with my first camera. Doing it just for the experience.
Earlier this year, I embarked on a quest. A quest to create something, a body of work. A quest, free of branding, focus group input, monetization strategies, or even logic. I started this quest before I even knew exactly what it was or how it would work. I started in Bangkok, Thailand, walking for miles and taking photos with my son’s camera. As I walked, the anticipation of more kept me moving forward, seeing many things I’d never seen before. My knees and legs ached from all of the walking, but it felt great.
My visit to Thailand was originally planned as a sabbatical. I had a few meetings but not enough to slow me down. Each morning as I set out, more than scenery came into view. I was learning to see again. [Read more…] about Learning to See.