Need to forget the rules

From a dark forest, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

Browsing through the photos from this summer, I started to think that I have been much too predicatable in photography, obeying rules, not inventing and experimenting. Of course, my idea of photography is mostly documentary: what I see, I shoot. But a camera can be used as a tool for discovery also.

Brillian Prints Blog has a nice posting on The Non-Rules of Photography: How You Can Enjoy the Experience More, referring to Lomography.com which listed "8 Golden Rules of Lomography". Here are some of the excellent rules:

• Try the shot from the hip.
  
• Approach your objects as close as possible.
  
• Don’t think. Just shoot.
  
• Don’t care about any rules. Actually forget about the rules.
  

The photo here was taken at the Nuuksio national park a week ago. It is somewhat rule based - framing, exposure, horizontal/vertical lines etc. I think a much better shot would have been possible with a little experimenting.