Creativity: The force behind all things of beauty

Once in a photography exhibition, a renowned photographer put up her prize photograph as one of the exhibits. So stunningly beautiful was the photo, that in no time a throng of admirers gathered around and marvelled at this exquisite work of art.

One among the crowd was a famous critic who had a reputation of being very difficult to please. He stared at the photo intently and then approached the photographer.

“Madam, that is a mighty fine picture you have put up there. Would you be so kind as to let me know the details of the equipment you used to capture this marvellous specimen?” he asked her.

The pleased photographer was only too happy to oblige. After hearing her out the critic said “I beg your pardon Madam, but it would seem to me that the modern, sophisticated equipment and the superior technology you used played a major role in capturing this piece. Without the equipment, it wouldn’t have been possible to capture such a stunning picture. All you had to do was stand in the right position and click on the shutter release button at the correct time. I hardly see why you should be taking the credit for it.”

The photographer was unruffled on hearing this stinging critique of her work. She replied calmly (the smile never leaving her face) “Sir, what you say is true, to some extent. But do consider this too: the technically advanced equipment did not come up with the creative genius behind the idea and the inspiration to conceive of this picture, nor did it calculate the correct amount of exposure, shutter speed, lighting, ISO and white balance to ensure that the picture came out the way it did. This equipment did not scout a thousand and one locations to find the optimum venue for the shoot and lastly, it did not click the shutter release button at the perfect time (after a hundred tries if I may add) to capture this masterpiece.”

As she concluded, the crowd around her applauded wholeheartedly while the critic could only stare back dumbfounded.

While it is true that technology has advanced in leaps and bounds in this day and age, the driving force behind all great innovations and things of beauty is human creativity.

Never underestimate the human creative spirit.