Collecting dots has been one of my favourite SCAB topics to talk about because I find it so helpful and fun.  I love jumping into things that are completely new to me, exploring them, and picking out elements from my explorations to create a new potential hobby or interest. I actually did photography at A-levels, but it wasn’t as fun back then. We were assigned specific things to shoot and angles to try out. It was more restricted and therefore a little more boring. That isn’t the case anymore.

I go out to take photos at least twice a month. And the goal isn’t anything like try using this perspective or find patterns. The goal is to shoot anything that is interesting to me. I never know what I’m gonna come across when I go out to take photos and sometimes I end up finding the best ones at my doorstep even if I try and take photos for a couple of hours. It can be so unexpected. You can have something in mind that might make a great visual but most of the time it doesn’t turn out like you wanted it to. I often take my favourite photos by accident or just because I thought it was something that should be documented.

I separate good photos into a few different categories. Photos of interesting subjects without any meaning, photos of uninteresting subjects that have been shot in a way that brings meaning to them, and finally the rare occurrence of a combination of both. Photos of an interesting subject that you can tie in some sort of meaning to. This one really does require some creativity. Another thing that might make any photo look cool is contrast. Contrast can easily change the vibe of a photo. It can make a regular rubber duck look like a rubber duck who has seen traumatic events.

How I think photography can be a very good way of collecting dots because it can catch and save moments, personas, emotions, activity, mobility and the list goes on. Being able to look at these visuals when you are in need of inspiration is definitely a perc. Also, sometimes you don’t realize the moment you caught until you actually look at the visual in detail or even edit it in some sort of way. When you look at some of the photos you have taken it unlocks ideas even if they are unrelated to that photo. These photos don’t have to be ideas only for visuals some photos might give you inspiration for a layout or a certain tone or contrast.

In general, I have adopted collecting dots as a hobby that I find really enjoyable. I collect random visuals online, I look at award-winning work, but the one I found most helpful and enjoyable has been photography. This hasn’t happened very often, but sometimes with some good copy on top these photos can straight up become posters.

@alicenanuras