Today I was tweeted the following interview with Paul Caponigro. In it, there is one particular thing he says which really cuts to the chase for me: "In order to be a good photographer, you need to work more on your emotions, than you do on your technique"

That is it, in a nutshell for me.

The tweet posting was timely, because this week I bought a very beautiful book by Caponigro called 'Meditations in Silver', which I believe is now out of print.

The images are finely produced, and show an attention to detail, symmetry and tonal range in his work.

In his interview he describes how he gets inspiration from everywhere and mentions music. I'm a music fanatic and not a day or hour goes by without it. I find music fuels my imagination and gives me a way to be inspired. I think it's important to tap into your imagination as often as you can.

I have a lot of workshop participants who tell me that they spend a lot of time with very technical or factual thoughts, and don't get enough time to dream. Dreaming is important, and it's something we do really well when we're children, and less so, perhaps when we're older.

I also think Caponigro mentions how he appreciates silence. I too, am finding as I get older, that I enjoy silence around me, and certainly, when I'm making images, I'm almost drawn by the quietness of a location. Everything around us, feeds our imaginations.