Trading the Lens for a Pencil: Sketching My Way Through a Creative Pause

After years of seeing the world through my camera’s lens, I’ve taken a step back — not from creativity, but from photography, just for a while. Sometimes, the best way to grow in one art form is to explore another. Lately, I’ve been diving into sketching, letting pencil and paper take the place of shutter and sensor.

Trading the Lens for a Pencil

This pause from photography hasn’t been about stillness, but about movement — and experimentation. I’ve been using some of my own photographs as references, particularly portraits and microscope images, translating them into hand-drawn form. There’s something deeply satisfying about revisiting an image you once captured with light, and now capturing it again through lines, shading, and form.

Tardigrade art

One of the more unexpected (and delightful) subjects I’ve been sketching? Tardigrades. Yes, the nearly indestructible microscopic creatures I’ve photographed under the microscope have become tiny muses on the sketchpad. Their alien-like features and complex textures have challenged my hand and expanded my appreciation for the subtle details photography sometimes freezes too quickly.

Capturing movement in a sketch

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I’ve also been playing with movement — especially the graceful motion of ballet dancers. These sketches are less about precision and more about energy. I’ve been experimenting with different techniques to suggest motion: repeated outlines, flowing lines, and exaggerated gestures that echo the elegance and power of dance. Capturing a dancer mid-leap or in a quiet pose has become an exploration of timing — just like in photography, but through a very different medium.

Combining creativity: Trading the Lens for a Pencil

This time away from the camera has reminded me that all creative expression is connected. Whether it’s the click of a shutter or the sweep of a pencil, it’s all about seeing — really seeing — and translating that vision into something tangible.

I’m not leaving photography behind. If anything, I’ll return to it with a fresh perspective, steadier hands, and a deeper appreciation for form, motion, and detail. For now, though, I’m enjoying the freedom of sketching — and discovering all the ways it complements my life behind the lens.

Exploring creativity, one line at a time.

Sara Sadler

Photographer

I am a fine art photographer based in the South of England. I enjoy sharing my photographic adventures, hints and tips.

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