Corey Holms

From the first moment I was able to get my hands on a camera until the day I entered intro to photo I had a habit of shooting detail shots. I cannot say that it has completely left me (I use it with video often), but shooting a "beautiful" shot is not as important to me. Now I am not saying that I would be alright with shooting a sloppy photo; I just do not get the same feelings looking at a close up of an object/subject if there is not real purpose other than advertising or something like that. That being said - Corey Holms rules.
There has been a recent trend in photography that involves photographers dropping food coloring into a glass and shooting it as it spreads... pretty... but also pretty boring. Some people are exceptionally good at it while others are not so good, but that does not really matter because doing that stuff sucks if you are actually doing it for portfolio work IMO. Corey Holms took this a step further and experimented a little more than the other photo-duplicators. There are two things that grab my attention about this guy:
1. He makes detail shots interesting (instead of just taking detail shots of everyday things)
2. His experimentation with a common shot led him to something unique

(doesn't the picture above remind you of something out of Dexter?)

If you are good at doing detail shots, find a way to make them interesting/unique. Do not go take detail shots of things that we see every day. Save that for ad campaigns or gifts unless there is true concept or meaning behind it. I started intro to photography taking detail shots. I think my first couple ones were cliche - like of a golf ball waiting to be teed off and a dead dandelion... boring. When I finally found my way in intermediate photography I did not let detail shots leave my mind. I more or less waited for a situation where I thought that it would be necessary for me to use them, similar to what Corey Holms has done here. These almost seem scientific.
His process, that probably started with him doing the stupid shots of food coloring through the glass, led him to experiment with different substances. He mixed foot coloring with different oils and other liquids with various consistencies to create pattern and textures within an otherwise typical shot. This is an appropriate use of detail shots.

Have you often found that your ideas stem from something that begins as a recreation, but turns into something that becomes your own do to your process bringing you in different directions along the way?