I live in a very visually boring place

[GrantH]

I go to the downtown area about three times a week.

It is dirty, nasty, there are homeless people everywhere. It makes me uncomfortable. Do you live here now? I heard it has gone downhill fast in the past few year.

I visit yearly. The part of downtown I have spent time in has always been appealing visually and nightlife wise. I haven't noticed the dirty part that you mention. Never heard much bad about Pensacola honestly.

 

[GrantH]

You live in South Florida and complain about scenery? Last I heard/saw, South Florida had some of the best scenery a guy could ask for You bought a camera wanting to shoot rivers and wildlife, but surely you knew this wasn't easily accessible in your area before hand...

I really sometimes wish you guys would really read before you guys judged. I never ONCE said I couldn't get good photos. I even started my thread off by saying "I know it's not an excuse, a good photographer can make anything look interesting" I just have a desire to see/photograph different types of scenery. Apparently this is a sin I the photography world to say lol. I didn't say there is nothing to photograph as I still have some nice landscape photos, just wish we had variety. And if you look through the thread, anybody who has been in Florida more then 5 minutes can relate. Anyone who says I am making an excuse is not really reading I never once said I CAN'T get good photos. I just wish there was more variety here. But I'm done repeating myself as I have said this a million times if no cares to reallyListen... Oh well.

We just don't have greenery, mountain, flourishing, snowy landscapes here. If a photographer wants the opportunity to photograph a particular bird, but that bird doesnt live where he is, a bird is not going to suddenly appear because he is a good photographer. But he makes due and photographs everything he can, still loves photography and has
No problem finding other things to photograph, That's not making an excuse, but he still has the desire to photograph that bird. Thats where I am at.

I really wish people wouldn't take things people say, twist it up, and try to make it worse than it is. You want to shoot landscape, wildlife, and other things...right? You bought a camera with this in mind, right? You knew ahead of time you wanted to shoot these, right? If you knew you didn't have the subjects you wanted to shoot within reasonable distance and still got in to photography...why are you complaining? Find other stuff (you seem to have done this). Drive/fly/travel to where these things are accessible to shoot. You have the everglades in South(ish) Florida...why not visit and take some gear with you? There are exotic animals all over Florida, whether or not they are interesting to you is a personal issue.

I could literally say all of this about my city for street photography. We have zero foot traffic in downtown. We also have very little for a car scene which I want to learn to shoot. We have no other places to shoot street photography other than downtown as our city elsewhere is simply a driving city. Find something else to shoot or try and find a way to do it. Talking about it on the net is doing nothing for you.

 

[Sammie_Lou]

It could be worse - you could live in Ohio.

 

[GrantH]

It could be worse - you could live in Ohio.

I could find plenty to take pics of in Cincinnati!

 

[blackrose89]

. You want to shoot landscape, wildlife, and other things...right? You bought a camera with this in mind, right? You knew ahead of time you wanted to shoot these, right? If you knew you didn't have the subjects you wanted to shoot within reasonable distance and still got in to photography...why are you complaining?

I didn't actually. I got into photography just as a college course. I didn't even buy a good camera to go along with it. And I fell in LOVE!!!! And I found myself most enjoying taking pictures of trees, field of flowers, rivers when I could. I learned I especially enjoyed this type of photography through doing.

 

[Sammie_Lou]

I was just kidding. lol Making fun of Ohio might just be a Michigan thing - we have a liiiiiittle bit of a rivalry (AND WE WON THIS YEAR! hahaha). Although, visually, the drive through Ohio on the way to the Smokey Mountains (love them!) is very boring. Some of the big cities can be cool to see...and there's always the Toledo zoo.


To the OP: Where in Florida exactly are you??

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Did you drive on the interstates?

 

[Sammie_Lou]

Yep. lol I think they just make me angry because of the toll booths and the lowered speed limits.

 

[unpopular]

I go to the downtown area about three times a week.

It is dirty, nasty, there are homeless people everywhere. It makes me uncomfortable.

If I was scared of homeless people, I wouldn't even go to the store.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Well, if you get off the highway, there's a lot more to see. This is true pretty much anywhere.

 

[Sammie_Lou]

Oh, I know. But when you're trying to make it from Detroit to Gatlinburg in one day, you don't get off the highway much. lol I think the drive really bores me because it looks so much like Michigan...so much like what I see every day. I do spend some time in Ohio, off of the highway, usually about once a month. My husband's paintball team practices in Sylvania during the cold months when the outdoor field near home is closed.

 

[MTVision]

I envy what some people have access to. I live in a very visually boring suburban area. I understand a good photographer can making anything look I interesting. I just sometimes envy the shots of forests, streams, lively city life, wild life etc that people get to shoot on a regular basis. Our beaches are very compositionally boring. Just plain sand and ocean LOL. I live in suburbia South Florida (which is no where near as cool as that sounds) so I don't even have a changing of seasons. Even our ducks are freakin ugly LOL. I see these amazing landscape shots, I so want to try my hand at it as I LOVE landscaped, But at times I feel very limited. And dont get me wrong, I have landscapes photos I am proud of And I'm not saying my photos are lacking or that I am unable to get good photographs,
I just wish there was more variety.

Tons of beautiful landscapes up here in Vermont - as long as you don't mind the fact the we only have 4 months of really nice weather (maybe 2-2 1/2 by Florida standards). It's really beautiful when we get our first snowstorm and we get 37 inches in 3 days!

You just don't see the beauty where you live because your accustomed to it. I feel the same way about where I live sometimes. I see the same landscapes everyday so they don't seem special - but when I drive an hour away to the mountains it's like a whole new place.

 

[Sammie_Lou]

I'm wondering if going to Key West would be an option - lots of interesting things to photograph there! You never know what you're going to see when you're walking through Key West. lol

 

[blackrose89]

I'm wondering if going to Key West would be an option - lots of interesting things to photograph there! You never know what you're going to see when you're walking through Key West. lol

Not easily, it's about an hour and half away from where I am. It's like someone said earlier, where I am, it takes planning to get to the places here that actually do have some nice spots.

 

[Sammie_Lou]

What major city are you near?? Maybe someone will have some ideas for you...

Really though, if you need to plan, then PLAN. Make a day of it. Go on a mini road trip - somewhere where you can still be home by dinner time. If you're spending all of this time going out and taking photos anyway, might as well put a couple more hours time into it to make it interesting to you. An hour and a half really isn't THAT far away. I went to our state capitol building (about an hour and a half away) to take some photos one day and was home by maybe 3-4 pm.


Btw, I saw that you're getting your new camera in a week. What are you getting??