Finding Photography Silly

[martin7]

Thanks for the responses! I am inspired to go take some more photos. This seasonal weather is dreary and has got me down for photography lately. Maybe I'll go to the botanical gardens.

 

[Jeff15]

This thread reminds me of a judge at photographic competitions who say's, well I have seen this image before, which is very unlikely because every image is a split second of time somewhere in the world so therefore is different...............

 

[limr]

This thread reminds me of a judge at photographic competitions who say's, well I have seen this image before, which is very unlikely because every image is a split second of time somewhere in the world so therefore is different...............

No one stands in the same river twice, sort of a thing?

 

[Jeff15]

Exactly...............

 

[texxter]

Lugging around a DSLR to take a picture of nature, landmarks, or artistic urban areas that everyone has already taken millions of better pictures than me is somewhat discouraging

This is the thought that will stop anything from being done.

Why do you even get out of bed in the morning with this kind of thinking. You're never going to be the best at anything right away.

What you can do, is learn to do it well enough to please yourself. If that means you have shoot worlds best image.....then I agree put it down and walk away. It's subjective just like any art form. There really can be no BEST picture. One what an individual thinks is best.

So find what you like and do it to your satisfaction. Become one of the best photographers ever, if that's your goal. There's no reason you can't. Anyone here can if they really want to.

The real takeaway here is the defeatist statements like why bother will always destroy any hope of satisfaction in anything. Push those thoughts out as quick as they arise. Know that you can in fact shoot a better image. All you have to do is learn and try.

Another way of eliminating the feeling of "never measuring up" is to change the subject of your photographs. If you shoot things that are traditional subjects, like sunsets, landscapes, flowers,.... unless you care deeply about these subjects, images may not be at the level you'd like. What I have found motivating is to to pick a subject you are really passionate about, and go explore it with your enthusiasm! Other times it is not so much the subject, but a specific way of making photographs, like 8x10 cameras or some style that you find visually appealing. Speaking for myself, the reason I don't do commercial work anymore and photograph mostly as a hobby is that I only want to shoot what I want when I want it how I want it - already have another occupation where I have tons of constraints - for photography I want to be excited about it, and that means I choose everything about it, including what I don't want to shoot.

 

[JPI]

I just completed scanning another set of old Ektachrome slides. I created a slide show on digital video (DVD) with music

Very Cool, did the same thing a few plus years ago; I bought a sailboat for my adult kids and we made a summer project out of it, funny thing was, this summer project went on for over a year.

Don't know if this will work but here's the slide video w/ music

 

[AlanKlein]

Great video slide show JPI. Creative and personal. And unique. No one can copy it and your family will treasure it forever. What I realized is nothing I do with my landscape shots will ever be better than the many photographers who already got the shot. So family slide shows solve my need for creativity, memories and uniqueness.

 

[deeky]

I too get bored quickly with the 'same old shots'. That doesn't mean I don't shoot them. I just find ways to shoot them differently. Kind of the whole standing on the desk thing in Dead Poets Society.

Take, for example, this shot. The Arch in St. Louis has been shot countless times. I chose to take the arch out of the Arch and rather like the shot.

IMG_1136a1 by breckmiller, on Flickr

 

[nerwin]

I understand how you're feeling.

Like @SCraig said, we all feel burned out time to time. It's the part of being an artist.

I did something crazy and switched camera systems in hopes it would somehow get my mojo back but it didn't unfortunately, at least not yet anyways. Struggling with anxiety, depression and all the BS that's in my life right now I'm finding it hard to be in touch my creative side. Some people are naturally good at it but I also believe quite of few them don't pursue it their entire lives either. They just give up after a while and move on to something else that is trendy and I've seen it. I knew amazing photographers with just an incredible national geographic like portfolio and out of nowhere, they disappear. That isn't photography to me, I believe photography is a lifelong journey which has its ups and downs and periods of doubts.

When I first got into photography I didn't even realize I was into photography because I was just taking pictures for the heck of it as something to do. Never cared what people thought, I just did it for me. That was before social media. Now it seems I'm taking photos for them instead myself. When I'm out shooting, I'm constantly questioning myself and asking "will people like this photo?" and when they don't, I felt horrible.

I realized that my best work are photos I've taken because I WANTED to take them. When you force yourself to take photos when you really don't want to, they'll never be as good. You think all the great photographers out there took photos every single day? Heck no. I'm sure they had a few weeks without pressing the shutter button here and there.

Do I find photography silly? Depends. Instagram in particular comes into mind. I found many photographers on Instagram to be silly. Multiples of them taken photos at the same locations with almost the same composition and similar processing. I find that silly. Because they aren't taking photos because they like it, they are taken photos to become popular on social media. I went down that road and I'm trying to find my way back. Comparing yourself to others, editing your photos based on trends and others so you can get more likes and followers is not healthy for your photography.

Don't give up. I felt like giving up many times and you feel like that, just take a break and do something else to get your mind off it. Your camera isn't going anywhere. There will always be photography opportunities waiting for you when you feel that you are ready again.

You can't rush photography. Like I said, some people pick it up within a months or year and others like me takes many, many, many years and that is perfectly okay. There is not right or wrong when it comes to art.

 

[DanOstergren]

Lugging around a DSLR to take a picture of nature, landmarks, or artistic urban areas that everyone has already taken millions of better pictures than me is somewhat discouraging

This is the thought that will stop anything from being done.

Why do you even get out of bed in the morning with this kind of thinking. You're never going to be the best at anything right away.

What you can do, is learn to do it well enough to please yourself. If that means you have shoot worlds best image.....then I agree put it down and walk away. It's subjective just like any art form. There really can be no BEST picture. One what an individual thinks is best.

So find what you like and do it to your satisfaction. Become one of the best photographers ever, if that's your goal. There's no reason you can't. Anyone here can if they really want to.

The real takeaway here is the defeatist statements like why bother will always destroy any hope of satisfaction in anything. Push those thoughts out as quick as they arise. Know that you can in fact shoot a better image. All you have to do is learn and try.

Just wanted to chime in here:

Because one loses interest in photography does not mean they lose their reason to get out of bed in the morning, nor does it mean someone is giving up on something or have been defeated. I would never try making someone feel bad for losing interest in a hobby or profession or tell them they need to force themselves to keep at it, I would encourage them to find something that they actually do love to do and focus on that, and maybe in the future if they want to return to photography they will. If photography doesn't give someone joy, they shouldn't have to pick up a camera anyways.

Yes, it's a challenge to be great and disciplined with something, but it should also be enjoyable and fun to elevate yourself to that level of excellence.

 

[zombiesniper]

I agree with your whole statement.

I was just making a satirical point in the first two statements and did in fact provide encouraging words after that.

 

[DanOstergren]

Struggling with anxiety, depression and all the BS that's in my life right now I'm finding it hard to be in touch my creative side.

I suffer from these mental blocks as well, having been diagnosed with bipolar 2 disorder and having awful anxiety. I choose not to take mood stabilizers because they tend to drain my drive to shoot. In Summer of 2013 I decided to get a longboard on a whim (and because it looked good with all of my outfits lol), and it's helped me a lot with my overall mental health and body health. You're going to have to practice at first and you're absolutely going to get hurt a few times if you've never done it before, but it's good exercise, focuses my mind, and elevates my mood every single time that I get on it and ride. I make excuses just to be able to put my headphones on and go ride somewhere. It's been great for me creatively as well, because I find all sorts of amazing locations while I'm out riding, being outdoors inspires me in general, and I often feel quite motivated to make some photo shoots happen after going on a long ride. Perhaps a bike or longboard, or anything like that might help you as it's done for me.