Fear and Photography?

matt-l · Apr 26, 2009

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?

JE Kay · Apr 26, 2009

All I know is spiders are best killed with an over-under shotgun with both barrels at once!

Fears eh? I'll have to climb onto a walkway 100' in the air and see if I can walk across by looking through the view finder only. :thumbup:

TwoRails · Apr 26, 2009

matt-l said:
... 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. ..

That's got to be because your mind is on "the task at hand" instead of letting your discomfort take the lead.

matt-l said:
Has anyone else lost their fears behind the lens?
...
Am i the only one?

Not afraid of spiders, so I can't use that. I don't like standing over the edge of a cliff, but have never tried taking a shot in that situation... If I had to get real close, I'd consider going to one knee or lower. Not necessarily because of the the 'fear' thing, but because I shoot with one I closed and would worry more about walking off thinking I have more room :shock:

matt-l · Apr 26, 2009

Your fears in general lost when behind the camera is what i meant.

But yes..i can see the "task at hand" being one good reason

Joves · Apr 26, 2009

Well I guess you had to have fears to get over in the first place. I have never really had any as, the amount of broken bones and stitches I got when I was young would attest. But it is because you are concentrated on getting the shot that it doesnt bother you. It is like when I shot a couple of women naked, I was so busy getting the shot I didnt really notice they werent wearing anything.

skieur · Apr 26, 2009

I think it is very easy to get tunnel vision when you are shooting, with all your attention and concentration on getting the shot without sometimes sufficient concern for safety.

Risks are part of the picture and I take a lot of them as well, but I try not to win any Darwin awards.

skieur

blash · Apr 26, 2009

To paraphrase "Waltz With Bashir" (the Israeli film that should have won Best Foreign Film this year), what a psychologist said:

I once saw a photographer who took photos of the Lebanon war who came back with PTSD. At first, he said he was doing completely OK - no nightmares, no fear, just taking photos for the media. But then one day his camera broke - and he actually saw what was happening around him. It turns out that he used his camera as a window to disassociate himself from what he saw - when he was behind the camera, he was merely a viewer, describing what he saw. Once his camera broke, he found himself in the thick and thin of it all.

den9 · May 4, 2009

sometimes i get scared when i pull the view finder away from my eye, with a wide angle lens u feel far away, then u put the camera down and realize holy chit im on the edge.

gravity0 · May 4, 2009

You're not born with fear, it's a learned condition, and thus can be unlearned.

Seefutlung · May 4, 2009

gravity0 · May 4, 2009

Seefutlung said:

That's not a fearful moment, that's a put your head between your legs and kiss your butt goodbye moment. :lol:

Mike_E · May 4, 2009

gravity0 said:
You're not born with fear, it's a learned condition, and thus can be unlearned.

Fear is the anchor that keeps your soul from floating away.

It's a good thing unless it gets too weighty. :lol:

Great shot Seefutlung, where were you?

Seefutlung · May 4, 2009

Mike_E said:
...
Great shot Seefutlung, where were you?

I was in a hole busy putting my head between my legs kissing my butt goodbye.

Gary

(Middle East)

ShotGunNik · May 4, 2009

matt-l said:
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?

I can understand if you have a fear of both heights and spiders, maybe the lense is doing its job of making things looking like they're right in front of you or actually taking place?