Cynthia Staples' Photography Inspiration & Writing Prompts

Cynthia Staples is a Boston-based freelance writer and photographer. Her writings can be found in online and print publications including African Voices, Creativity Portal, Flashquake, Seattle Times, and Terrain.org. For over ten years she has worked with education nonprofits and with organizations exploring concepts of culture, community and sustainability.

Today, she enjoys writing about these organizations and the services they offer. She also enjoys writing about how nature and geography influence human behavior and perceptions. She finds inspiration in the natural world, through traveling and in her southern African American roots. In 2007, she received a Writer's Room of Boston creative nonfiction fellowship. Visit Cynthia's blog at wordsandimagesbycynthia.wordpress.com and view her photography at photosbycynthia.smugmug.com.

Inspiring Creativity Photo Essays
& Articles by Cynthia Staples

Beneath the Sun, Moon and Stars: Exploring New Worlds with Paper
By Cynthia Staples
I looked around me and found sheets of paper and a pair of scissors. I began to cut. I kept cutting for a week.

Ephemeral Beauty, Enduring Inspiration
By Cynthia Staples
With a single touch to shells, rocks, and shards of glass strewn about my desk I can be transported back in time. For a little while.

To Define or Not to Define: That is the Question
By Cynthia Staples
I realized that "people" were not limiting my creativity. I was the one putting the brakes on my professional growth by narrowly defining who I was and what I photographed.

Look Up! To Spring's Inspiration
By Cynthia Staples
When winter has given way to spring, I simply say, look up to find some inspiration.

The Frog, The Flower and The Rock
By Cynthia Staples
Finding inspiration through collaboration.

In the Butterfly House: A Place of Unexpected Inspiration
By Cynthia Staples
Drawing from a place of childhood whimsy and flights of flowery imagination.

Sharing a Mother’s Gift: My Butterfly Muse
By Cynthia Staples
Each expression of the butterfly reminds me of my mother who first pointed out their beauty to me in her garden.

Need a Creative Spark? Take the Color Challenge
By Cynthia Staples
What would it be like to focus on a single color from a photographic standpoint? What color might you choose?

Strawberry Pictures
By Cynthia Staples
When I look at my strawberry pictures, I am reminded to live in the moment and to experience the opportunities available in that moment as fully as possible.

Light on a Leaf
By Cynthia Staples
Outside my bedroom is an oak tree. Its russet leaves become pumpkin in the afternoon light.

Find Inspiration in the Shadows
By Cynthia Staples
I love to take pictures after the rain. The droplets that cling to leaves catch the light. Everything sparkles in a magical way.

Find a Patch of Sunlight
By Cynthia Staples
With sunlight as my guide, I am more open to creative epiphanies that may be right in front of my face.

Embark on a Cloud Chasing Expedition
By Cynthia Staples
I challenge you to create your own Cloud Chasing Kit. Better yet, just stop in the course of your day to look up into the sky.

Feeding Imagination
By Cynthia Staples
As a writer, when I am starved for words and ideas, I open a picture book or go online and click into an artist's website.