It happens more often than I like to admit - I want to make images, but either I’m not feeling inspired, or there’s always the lame default ‘I don’t have my camera’ excuse. But more and more lately, that hasn’t been the case as I, along with the rest of the world, always have a camera with me. In my case, it’s an iPhone, and I’ve found myself using it more and more, perhaps not for paid gigs and official shoots, but for, brace for it…FUN! So there goes that excuse. But I was still left with the ‘I’m not feeling inspired’ nonsense.
Enter OKDOTHIS.
It’s an app.
It’s barely been out for a week.
But I’ll tell you this right now - this thing is gonna be big.
It’s the brainchild of photographer Jeremy Cowart and at its core, OKDOTHIS is a never-ending photographic scavenger hunt in which the items being searched for are sourced by those who download and use the app. Basically, those that have the app can create a ‘DO,’ they put it out there for the world to see, and then if you’re part of that world, you go and ‘DO’ it…and by ‘DO,’ I mean take and upload a picture that fits that respective 'DO.'
For example, a current ‘DO’ is ‘fog.’ It’s that simple. Now you upload a picture of something that, in some way, however loosely interpreted, incorporates fog.
The current list of popular DOs range from “Let us peek inside your notebook,” “View out the window,” “Look up,” “Make now look like then,” to “Unexpected beauty,” “Interesting typography,” and “Create a mystery. Make them guess.” And all the DOs fit into a myriad of categories that include everything from ‘Art’ to ‘At Home’ to ‘Giving Back,’ ‘Kids,’ ‘Fashion,’ ‘Travel,’ ‘Outdoors,’ ‘Pets & Animals,’ and at least a dozen more. You name it, it exists.
The best thing about this is that, sure, it may not lead to your latest masterpiece, but it provides a gift far more valuable than that, it helps continually ignite ideas and approaches to both the ordinary everyday, as well as the extraordinary once-in-a-lifetime. Basically, it comfortably forces inspiration. You no longer just look at things, you start to really truly see…everything. Hell, it’s basically zen in an app (ok, perhaps that’s taking it a bit too far, but it’s kind of neat that an app is actually encouraging your eyes and attention to move away from the screen and actually pay attention to the world immediately around you).
I’ve only been an OKDOTHIS user for about 3 days and it didn’t take me long to realize that it was a godsend. I have already found myself uploading over 100 images, some taken as a particular ‘DO’ inspired me, and some that I’ve had before, and now have found a new home and audience. Anyhow, right now it’s only for iOS, but I have a feeling they didn’t quite know how popular this thing would be, so I wouldn’t be too surprised to find it on other platforms soon enough.
The video is below, and the website is www.OKDOTHIS.com. If you decide to join in on the fun, make sure to find and follow me on there - my user name is @wasimofnazareth!
Just DO it!