Creative rut...Dilemma

mherrick3 · Jul 21, 2011

Ok so here's the story, I purchased a T2i about a year ago for the sole purpose of making short films, mainly of mountain biking and other such activities, but I have also always wanted to get into photography too, so it was like killing two birds with one stone. I quickly found myself using it to take pictures more than using it for the video capabilities, mainly because compelling content for video is hard to come by. Fast forward to a month ago, my camera was rarely getting used, but for some reason I really wanted to upgrade to a 60d because of the awesome swiveling lcd, I talked myself into thinking that I would use it for video much more if I had this capability. So I sold my t2i on craigslist and bought a 60d body. The body arrived just before I was going on a trip to beautiful Lake Tahoe, California, so i was super excited to snap some great shots of the scenery. But every picture I seemed to take turned out lackluster. My family and friends were getting more interesting shots with their point and shoots. Now I know I'm not the greatest photographer in the world, but I can usually take shots that, I think, are pretty good. After coming home and really looking at the photo's on a good computer and trying to edit them a bit, they still seemed really flat and boring, which kinda got me down. So i tried going around the backyard and trying to shoot some cliched artsy shots that look good to try to get my confidence back, but still, everything looked "bad". All of this has really made me uninspired and makes me not want to pick up a camera.

I am very good technically with the camera, but that alone can't make good photos and I'm contemplating giving up the hobby entirely. I just purchased this body, so I went searching to see if maybe it was still possible to return it, and it started out as just curiosity at first, but when I realized I could actually do it, I thought more and more about actually doing it! I keep thinking this is my chance to get all my money back and be done. Make a clean break. I figure I could sell my other gear on craigslist and get about $1600 all together. I am not "hurting" for money, but I am a poor college student, so having an extra $1600 in the bank would be nice! I used to love taking pictures, but I haven't been doing much of it recently, and It's hard to have $1600 sitting in your closet not doing anything.

Basically I want to know if any of you guys on here have experienced such moments where you thought about giving up the hobby, and what made you stay in it. If you could share your story and your advice on what to do, that would be great. Any insight at all would be appreciated

and here's a link to some photos I've taken so you can judge if I have any business being in the hobby at all
Flickr: MichaelHerrick68's Photostream

thanks

Matt24138 · Jul 21, 2011

I will say this. I am a guitar player. I have been playing for 26 years. I also write songs. I may not write or play for 6 months to a year but I am still a guitar player and I certainly don't go out and sell my guitars or recording equipment when I get writers block. Only you can decide if you are a photographer or not. Not all my songs are great and not everybody likes them. I am still a writer and guitar player.

sierramister · Jul 21, 2011

Where are photos taken with the 60D? It says on flickr that those photos are from the t2i.

AgentDrex · Jul 21, 2011

Well, its up to you whether to give up or not. I understand the feeling of that extra money in the bank, but you'll end up spending it at some point. You are a "poor college student" after-all. You are a photographer now with equipment. You could sell it because the equipment is just collecting dust in the closet and then sometime later, you'll get the photography bug again and have nothing worthy to shoot with. Just saying. I'm not a guitar player or a song writer, but I still own two amps, two guitars (B.C. Rich Warlock First Run Acrylic Series and a Switch Stealth Innovo) and a bass (Michael Kelly Dragonfly right-handed 5-string, fretless, acoustic/electric bass). There's so much to do in photography, it seems you may need to find something different to shoot to re-invigorate your excitement. I know you tried, but have you tried the small, small macro world? There is almost an endless supply of photographic opportunities. But this is all up to you. Good luck making a decision that will benefit you the most. I looked through your flickr account and see some really nice shots I would be proud to have taken. Thank you for sharing them with us.

Destin · Jul 21, 2011

I've gone through that kinda thing before. Almost every winter I'll go a couple months without opening my camera bag. You just need to find something new to shoot to get you back into it.

For me, that thing was sports. I started shooting sports locally and it's really gotten me back into photography alot. Your a college student, which means you can most likely get access to shoot some college sports if you wanna give it a try.

Also, if you wanna get rid of the flat look, try shooting some HDR photos.

Or to mix it up, get a cheap intervalometer and do some time lapses.

Your photos look pretty good man, and you clearly like photography. I'd keep the gear, but that's just me

analog.universe · Jul 21, 2011

Also, maybe check out some more abstract art theory? Learn about what the masters have done to make their photos interesting... thinking about those sorts of techniques while you shoot will get your head out of the box a little, even if you're not trying to duplicate them. It seems like you've gotten the technical stuff pretty well under control, and that's not what's holding you back. The other side is the subtle, intuitive, harder to explain stuff that literally takes a lifetime to figure out.

pgriz · Jul 21, 2011

Snapshots are visual record-keeping. Did this activity, with those people, in this place, at that time.

Good photography is story-telling. Makes you want to know more. Makes you wonder why. Makes you think. Makes you care (sometimes).

If you want your images to be more than "flat and boring", you need to access the tradition of visual story-telling. Remember this? Afghan Girl on Cover of Magazine, Photos, Wallpapers - National Geographic
A simple portrait, yet millions were affected by this image.

There are lots of people using cameras to capture images. It takes some creative energy to put together an image that is interesting to others who don't know the context, or the people, or the place. You need to pull your audience into the image. You need to make them want to linger and study the image. And usually, that means giving your viewers a story to read. A picture is worth a thousand words, it is said. But only if it tells a story.

mherrick3 · Jul 21, 2011

Thanks for the input guys

I don't have any shots from the 60D because I have only shot with it for 2 weeks or so, and I didn't think any of the shots were worth posting

I really like sports photography, but I've only shot motocross/mountainbiking, but i like the idea of shooting college sports

And about HDR, I tried it when i first got the T2i, and the shots were ok, but I tried it again just recently on my 60D and all the shots came out looking really funky. I shot about 4-6 shots all at intervals of about 2/3's of a stop each shot. I am using CS5, but they just looked awful, I don't know what I did wrongd

gsgary · Jul 21, 2011

No, never felt like that, i was bored last weekend because it was raining heavy so i got out my studio flashes and rolled up some paper
here's the result

Destin · Jul 21, 2011

mherrick3 said:
Thanks for the input guys

I don't have any shots from the 60D because I have only shot with it for 2 weeks or so, and I didn't think any of the shots were worth posting

I really like sports photography, but I've only shot motocross/mountainbiking, but i like the idea of shooting college sports

And about HDR, I tried it when i first got the T2i, and the shots were ok, but I tried it again just recently on my 60D and all the shots came out looking really funky. I shot about 4-6 shots all at intervals of about 2/3's of a stop each shot. I am using CS5, but they just looked awful, I don't know what I did wrongd

HDR processing is a tough cookie to crack. I'm a big fan of the artizen HDR software, it makes it alot easier to get goo results, imo.

As far as sports, I started off shooting mountain bike racing, because its the sport that I myself participate in, and I slowly branched out into other sports. There are very few sports I haven't at least tried to shoot now. But I'm still the best at mountain biking, because I know the sport so well.

mherrick3 · Jul 21, 2011

Thats what I am mainly shooting, just friends jumping at the local spot or at the collegiate race series, but I have fairly limited range with my 28-75 lens, so I would have to invest into a decent telephoto lens if I was to keep doing it. I have a problem with focusing on fast riders, it's like the camera or lens isn't fast enough, I have the camera set to AI Servo mode which is the mode in which the camera continually focuses, but it doesn't seem fast enough, so i resort to manually focusing a predetermined distance and hope the rider come through that focus plane.
What do you do to get those fast riders in focus?