What does "Let the Muses guide you" mean, and why is it relevant to LF?

[Heroique]

Let the muses guide you.

Let the muses guide you.

Let the muses guide you.

This phrase seems to get a lot of airplay around here – but what, pray tell, does it mean?

I could be wrong, but I think some people take it to mean, "Let inspiration find you" in field, studio, or darkroom, whether or not they know anything about Greek mythology.

But is the phrase really just a code word for Zen practice at best, and "Use the Force, Luke" at worst? And what, exactly, are you being guided to – or guided from? Are the Muses guiding you by a leash, a radio transmitter, mental telepathy? And can you, in turn, guide the Muses?

What about book learning, formal education, proven customs – don't they have an important role to play in LF? For example: "Let Ansel Adams' book, The Camera, guide you."

If it's advice you've offered (or taken), please enlighten the rest of us about what it personally means to you, and why it's relevant to LF photography.

[Tin Can]

I always use the standard Greek Mythology definition and actively seek a muse through life and love.

[Jac@stafford.net]

To me the muse or muses point to inspiration or guidance that a person cannot articulate, but can feel. In photography it can be a drive to seek certain composition, light, subject, one or all combined. It can be a series of works contributing to a singlular vision.

By cannot articulate I mean that the maker's motive and visualization are not available to language. The maker works until satisfied, or not. Being close is gratifying, but not complete, so we work on.

Some consider the muse successful if it evinces emotion which can be the "Ah Ha" moment or an "Oh damn" moment, but our personal realization is not universal. We do what we can with lonely persistence.

That is the way I have always worked - without language being available and over thirty years in the arcane paradigm of academe has not helped one tiny bit to bring it to words. That's the way it is, and how it should be.

[Old-N-Feeble]

Nahh... some buzzwords get started and you can't shut 'em up for years sometimes. No offense to the authors at all... just sometimes things grow into a life of their own far beyond the original intent which is often said or written in jest.

Wazzuuupp??

[blueribbontea]

It sounds to me as if a "muse' is a mythical creature, like a "guardian angel" that some use to describe what works as a very personal trigger. I used to tell my students, "If it catches your eye, shoot it." In my work, that is normally how I find a subject. Then the second "muse " must kick in; how to bring that subject to a sort of perfection in an image, i.e., the negative. Perfection is not quite the right word, maybe better a "satisfaction." In any case, it is something very internal in the way I respond to the world "out there." And my response is very distinct and personal. When I was a young teenager a friend said to me, as we were hanging out in the park; "You see things different." When Weston said that composition was "the strongest way of seeing" I think he was speaking of similar things. There probably is no strongest way that is universal, but there is a strongest that is personal. Even so, I think that even on personal terms our successful images still are not perfect, even when they are satisfying. This is the way I read the suggestions to "follow the muses..."

[Bill Burk]

And the spammers, I don't know what they gain from the practice but they seem to love collecting our IP addresses using their hidden images.

[Heroique]

My off the cuff answer is which ever rattles your creative muses.

The LFer has a whole bunch of other things to worry about in terms of camera, tripod, holders, film, transport, processing, wind, physical and spiritual motivation and last but not least the will of the Muses.

I am fairly certain that a high percentage of the photographers who cultivated what was known as "art photography" around 1915 ... would have known the names of the ... Muses.

Edward Weston and his various muses were Californian Bohemians.

Make your muses jealous!

I only stop when the muse abandons me, but she's back in force lately so I'll ride this wave of inspiration as far as it takes me.

What I appreciate is that Nobuyuki Kobayashi was following his own muse, rather than just plugging tripod holes at various well-known locations.

Fun replies so far – and to complement them, I've appended above a random + entertaining assortment of "Muse" remarks (a-Musing remarks?) from real people over the past few days, weeks, months. Spammers be gone!

Seems that everybody who has a Muse (or refers to them) knows what Muse means in LF, and seems to believe everyone else shares that particular understanding.

I'm not so certain there's a common understanding, but the remarks do suggest there's more than one, they're all women, and they're very important to our work – just like in ancient Greece!

But the nature of their important role in LF is a far more complicated and mysterious matter. ;^)

[John Kasaian]

I take it as being completely open to whatever unexpected occurrences are happening around you---taking cues from a creative force rather than passing up the opportunity and sticking with your pre- conceived game plan----probably the opposite of pre- visualization.

[karl french]

You're thinking too much.

[Heroique]

Probably the opposite of pre-visualization.

I like it!

One might call it "Muse-visualization" – or "Musualization" for short.

Seems that both are necessary for the best images – so it's too bad the best-known LF books on technique say so little about it. Probably because it always has, and always will elude formal instruction.

You're thinking too much.

I like this too.

But in view of Ken's "left brain = analytical-dualistic" post, this might mean: "You're thinking too much with the right brain."

In other words, enough with the Muse, back to the books and chalkboard!