Fear and Photography?

[TwoRails]

Just don't be so fearless that you slip and fall off the cliff!

Sadly, stuff like that happens...

 

[lopezmariel]

I had this fear before but when I started shooting it was replaced with all excitements.

Now its my hobby.

 

[Overread]

some people think that I got a nice long macro lens for the increased background blur and the good working distance so that I would not scare the bugs.

Truth is I need that long working distance so they don't get me!!!
ok its 99% spiders - and small ones are ok - but no way am I getting any closer than this:
IMG_0356 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
to those big ones!!

 

[Seefutlung]

 

[Iron Flatline]

It's the #1 reason so many combat photographers die... they lose fear looking through their lens.

It's also why I don't accept the argument by some people that they are too scared to do street photography. If you were really lost in your art you wouldn't think about what others are thinking of you.

 

[Overread]

just the same for many people - consider all those wildlife videographers out in the wilds - only the presentor of the series at the very end gets and recegnition - nothing for the camera man, soundman, lighting etc.....

Oh sure they are in the credits at the end (you know that bit whey some guy tells you what is on next or you flip to another channel). If your not the one in the spotlight your nothing ---

just thing - everyone knows who was first on the moon - but how many know who was second?

 

[astrostu]

just thing - everyone knows who was first on the moon - but how many know who was second?

Buzz Aldrin

 

[monkeyroller]

Really?
I think there needs to be a line drawn between fear of real danger, and fear of embarrassment. The former is actually good to pay attention to, but you can get over the latter.

 

[Seefutlung]

"There is nothing to fear but fear itself."

 

[In2daBlue]

The post about combat photographers dying because of lack of fear is correct. The highest percentage of deaths among combat photographers and war reporters are those who are on their first outing and for those who have been at it for decades (Robert Capa). The beginners are unaware of certain dangers or unable to recognize them and make stupid mistakes that get them killed. The veterans are numb to it and have a "I won't get killed cuz I have been doing this for so long" mentality that they also get knocked off, usually as a result of doing something that they would have avoided earlier in their career.

Losing fear from behind the lens is natural. You're so busy with the task at hand (getting a good image) that you lose track of the scary aspects of what you're shooting. There is no doubt to that truth.

When I first started my photojournalism career I was in the newsroom of my first daily newspaper. The police scanner cracked with news of a massive tornado ripping through a small town about 10 miles southeast of us. I grabbed my cameras and drove to intersect the storm. I did about 15 minutes later as the damn thing ripped right in front of my car. It was huge and my car was shaking violently from the high winds. My windshield broke from the massive hail. But, I wasn't scared. I was shooting the twister out my window. Then, after it passed I started shooting the destruction it left behind in the small town it tore apart. It wasn't until an hour into that I found my fear. I was on a small farm shooting a family as they were surveying the damage that I looked down and saw that I was standing about 2 inches away from a live power line that had been downed. The power line had been snapped and there were sparks coming from the tip every couple of seconds. It was at that point that I learned fear, and an awareness of your surroundings go a long way between being safe and getting the good shot and just getting the good shot.

 

[Big]

Has anyone else lost their fears behind the lens?

I've noticed standing on the edge of a cliff to get a nice landscape shot has not bothered me...yet im terrified just standing there looking out.

Shooting macro..im a scared ****less of spiders yet, still take shots of them until i realize that hey...i hate these guys and either kill it or walk away.

Am i the only one?

A true photographer will take the risk of making that sudden slip off a rock into the water or do something daring to get the shot that he/she will always remember taking.