I s photography a Waste of Time if You Don't Display You Pictures?

[ArizonaSun]

Think thats true? Like if you burn pictures to a dvd and barely look at a 10th of them and no one else see them and they are never put into books or frames?

 

[rufus5150]

If you're happy, nothing else matters.

Sometimes the zen of setting up and taking a shot is enough to satiate me.

 

[Josh66]

I have to agree with rufus - most of my shots never get seen by anyone other than me & my wife. Most never even get printed.

I still do it though...

Half the fun is taking the picrures for me. I do like to print & hang anything that's good enough for that - but not printing & hanging it doesn't make it less fun.

 

[abraxas]

I think in displaying one's work it becomes an endeavour in the humanistic arts rather than an exercise in self indulgence, even if the work is self indulgent.

-

 

[Unmanedpilot]

Ive taken ~13000 photos since I got my XTi, as of right now I have 1 up in my moms house, maybe 50 on my facebook and another 30 on other sites.

So I only have .006% of my work available to the public, and I'm happy with that. As has been said its really the process of doing it that's the most fun. Sharing it with people is just an added bonus

 

[Iron Flatline]

Displaying work is fun, certainly not mission-critical, but it changes the way you think about your work.

Try it, force yourself to build a body of work as though you're preparing for a show. You'll probably end up having one somewhere.

 

[Garbz]

Why not. Is the joy of photography taking the photo and showing someone else? Or is the joy derived from climbing a mountain to get that perfect shot?

I fall into the latter category. My last holiday netted more than 4000 new images. I think I have shown about 6 of them. All posted here on TPF.

 

[abraxas]

Displaying work is fun, certainly not mission-critical, but it changes the way you think about your work.

Try it, force yourself to build a body of work as though you're preparing for a show. You'll probably end up having one somewhere.

:thumbup:

 

[Overread]

I have been displaying my work for ages now - TFP sees a good chunk of it as does flickr and some other sites. I have a few prints also but nothing special, but it is something I want to get into more (my walls need some decoration)
As for display to the public nope not had a chance but again I would love the chance to have a to (again once I sort out this printing thing - and then frames too!).

As for what Iron Flatline suggested its another idea I really want to follow - myself I am aiming for a month long project and putting the resulst into a photobook - printed and bound by one of the printing labs.

In the end what you get out of photography as a hobby is going to be different between different people - some do it just for the prints/some for money/some for the setting up/some for collecting the gear/etc...

 

[patrickt]

Is sex a waste of time if you're not making a baby? Is walking a waste of time if you're not going somewhere? Is reading a waste of time if you're not learning something? Is voting a waste of time if....never mind.

 

[JerryPH]

If you're happy, nothing else matters.

Sometimes the zen of setting up and taking a shot is enough to satiate me.

Bingo. Funny story... I don't have the time to set up a portrait session with friends, contacts or family... but I've had the 2 softboxes that I recently bought set up and torn down at least 3 times already and not one picture of a human being was taken... lol.

The pleasure is in the journey, not the destination.

 

[bhop]

I like both. The actual act of taking photos is something I really love doing. It's relaxing, but I also like to show people my end product, usually through flickr, although I have a few shots on my walls, and occasionally make prints for friends/family and my photo albums.

But to answer the OP's question, I don't think it's a waste of time if you don't display as long as you're happy.

 

[Chiller]

It is my hobby, which means it is for me. In the last month, I have taken about 100 photos...check out how many I posted here....zippo I lost my motivation to post a long time ago, so now I will keep my photos for me and my other space :mrgreen:

 

[gsgary]

Gary Winogrand had 300,000 that he never saw

 

[Photographergirl04]

I like both. The actual act of taking photos is something I really love doing. It's relaxing, but I also like to show people my end product, usually through flickr, although I have a few shots on my walls, and occasionally make prints for friends/family and my photo albums.

But to answer the OP's question, I don't think it's a waste of time if you don't display as long as you're happy.

:thumbup: