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EBSCOhost Page 1 Back 3 page(s) will be printed. Record: 1 Creativity Makes a Difference. By: Jones, Dewitt. Journal for Quality & Particlpation, Jan/Feb99, Vol. 22 Issue 1, p58, 6p, bw; Abstract Discusses creativity process at work. Reference to photography; How to find a perspective; Details on the creative attitude.; {AN 1767693) Database: Academic Search Premier CREATIVITY MAKES A DIFFERENCE Dewitt Jones, award-winning National Geographic photographer, turns a telescopic lens on the creative process. Making a difference. It's something we d all like to do. Ta share with the world a new vision, a new attitude, a new perspective that helps lift us all a little higher. For many of us, however, access to new visions, attitudes, and perspectives can seem frustratingly difficult. The world changes at an ever-increasing rate, and we seem barely able to keep up with it, much less find new ways to contribute, “Be more creative," they tell us. But hey, that’s not easy. Creativity is a word reserved for artists, and there's a very big difference between art and business. Art is creative; business is practical. Art is frivolous; business fs serious. Art is to be indulged in only when all the "important stuff" is done; business is the "important stuff." No wonder the subject of creativity sets off a palpable uneasiness in many of us. "Hey, I've spent my career attending to business, now you want art as well?!” Yet that is exactly what making a difference calls for. For what is creativity but the art of seeing things in a new way; the art of looking at the ordinary and seeing...the extraordinary. The essence of creativity is not a technique but an attitude; an attitude of curiosity, openness, and celebration. An attitude that allows one to constantly see the world with new eyes. Though creativity is not a technique, I have, during my years as a photographer with National Geographic, learned a number of methods to help me access that creative state. The more I practiced them, the more I realized that these techniques apply equally well to many situations-whether ] am creating a photograph, parenting a child, running an office, or serving a client. Change the challenge, the principles remain the same. Using my photographs as examples, let me share some of these techniques: Extraordinary solutions To find an extraordinary photograph, I first need the right lens on my camera. If I don't initially view the challenge from the right perspective, I know I don't have a chance of finding a truly creative solution. Consider the photograph above of Yosemite Fails. It is shot with a lens that creates quite a pleasant scene. Yet as [ stared through the viewfinder, I wasn't happy. I'd seen it before. The perspective offered nothing new, nothing extraordinary. Looking again, I realized that what had really drawn my eye to the falls in the first place was not this view at all. Rather, it was something at the very bottorn of the frame; the juxtaposition of the single silhouetted tree and the surging water behind, I had the wrong lens-the wrong perspective-and it was keeping me from capturing the extraordinary view. When I corrected my perspective, then I found the real photograph on the next page. http://web.cbscohost.com/ehost/deli very ?vid=23 Khid=106&sid=dd84e9a0-9cfh-41c5-bb67-... 5/7/2008 
