being left handed......

Being left handed means that you are right-brain dominant and this means that you follow a creative flow of information or processing. Left handers have that creative spark, gut reaction and inspiration.

I am left handed………….

Does that make me more creative - well possibly, but you may have to ask those I work with for confirmation. I do certainly love the creative process of planning a shoot, from the initial idea; which can often be a light bulb moment - to the moodboard, styling , lighting, concept and location. Then when I actually get to shooting I often , if things are going well, get an adrenalin rush which continues as I edit the images. There is a heightened sense of excitement, and reverence as to what I have accomplished. Then after the edit and the shoot is over, done and finished, there is an inevitable crash and burn and a sense of grief that it is finished. So in a way I spend my life as a photographer on creative highs and lows.

It has been documented that lefties can suffer more with mental illness - maybe that explains my crash and burn after a shoot. There can be a sense of loss and despair after a shoot so I need to get back to planning, researching and thinking about ‘what next?’ so that I can experience that high and adrenalin rush again.

For centuries lefties were considered unlucky, weak and often accused of witchcraft. The word ‘sinister’ comes from the latin word for leftie……….

Am I any of those - I don’t think so…..I just live to create…….

Lefties are often very good at dealing with challenges as we live in world designed for rights. Some ordinary household things like scissors, can openers etc, are aimed at rights. Writing can be a challenge as you can smudge the ink - and don’t get me started on cheque books, (although most of us don’t use them now!). Spiral notebooks, I use upside down so the spiral is on the other side.

So with all the challenges we face on a daily basis, we are better able to deal with creative processes and challenges as we often have to find alternative ways of doing things. Lefties are great problem solvers.

You only have to look at the world of celebrities in acting and music and you will find lefties - acting and music are creative industries -

Tom Cruise

Angelina Jolie

Robert De Niro

Lady GaGa

Eminem

Paul McCartney

Jimi Hendrix

……and what of our most celebrated philosophers and thinkers -

Leonardo de Vinci

Albert Einstein

Marie Curie

…..so I feel I am in good company.

My photography is my creative outlet and although I go through a process of highs and lows, the highs far outweigh the lows and the adrenalin rush keeps me going - striving onwards to create better and more exciting photography and for me my images become an art form, a creative process, made from my thoughts, my desires, my rush of excitement.

x Laura Nov 2020