The Power of a Creative Image Series with Rick Hulbert: A Review

by John Todd – October 20, 2021
(Originally published at The Bellows: Hamilton Camera Club)

The Hamilton Camera Club enjoyed a Zoom presentation by Rick Hulbert of Vancouver on the subject of The Power of a Creative Image Series – the first time Rick has given this talk.

Rickʼs background is as a teacher, architect and urban designer, affiliated with Simon Fraser University and Langara College. His enthusiasm for education and encouragement shone through throughout the talk, as he shared his ideas on creativity and personal expression, demonstrated through the concept of an image series as a way of thinking about photography.

His talk ranged widely, drawing links between photography and other art forms, recognizing the common language of creativity that they share. He introduced us to his Creativity Triangle – the interaction between curiosity, play and imagination, where each of the three principles informs the next.

Rick used an online gallery format as a way to present series of three to seven images, each one separately and thoughtfully titled but united by an overall theme and title, to show how organizing images into a series can add power and meaning beyond the individual images. He emphasized the importance of adding an artistʼs statement to a series, drawing on many examples from his own work and that of his students to bring this point home.

The club members were clearly energized by the talk, as the Q and A session became more of an open back-and-forth discussion as we explored Rickʼs ideas and philosophy, and related them to our own work.