What is Craig Mod doing?

Craig Mod, Looking Closely

What is Craig Mod doing that interests me so?

We consume a lot in this age, but what is it that really binds us to an artist or creator? That bond that means we’ll consume all that they emit even if we wouldn’t take a second look at it coming from someone else.

There’s always a bridge, some strand of their work that carries you into their world. Something shared, or some enlightenment. Craig Mod has an abiding affection for walking, an affection I share. But there are quite a few creators that study and explore walking, none have captured me as Craig has. What is he doing differently? He’s in Japan, this is novel in this space, and lends further richness to his explorations; skill, he’s an excellent writer, it has been his career and craft; he’s a great photographer, and he develops his writing and photography in a tight loop. These are some of the things that distinguish him, but there’s more, an essence that is harder to define.

I’d be tempted at this point to say that Craig’s work is greater than the sum of its parts, but that belies the more novel truth: that it is equal to the sum of its parts. Craig produces with a remarkable consistency of quality, but it isn’t mysterious, his output is equal to his inputs, reflective of the immense time and focus he has devoted to his craft, always looking closely.

I trust Craig as a creator, and as a human, though I have never met him, because his work has moved and inspired me. I have a feeling that after this point, after we have crossed into a creators world and accepted the laws of their universe, there is very little that they can do to lose our affection.

This perhaps begins to explain why it can be so hard to put across quite why we favour this creator over that one: trust is a deeply personal affair, built in secret and closely guarded thereafter.