What makes you so passionate about the photography you do, or want to do?

[Tarayn]

[This is a question for everyone, I would like to know] For me [1] is I like for people to see themselves as do, everyone has beauty in them, or something that's just special about them and everyone doesn't see that and I like to capture it. [2] Since I became interested in photography I look at light everywhere I am, and the light that just makes me scream inside is early morning like or evening light. Even if I'm not photographing what I see, it just makes me feel so much better and seeing beautiful light in the sky or reflected on a tree is so simple, but it just makes me feel all warm inside. Anyways write below what you shoot that makes your heart sing.

 

[jamesbjenkins]

I love shooting weddings b/c it's a total thrill ride for the entire shoot. No redos, no do-overs, no mulligans. You miss a shot, it's gone. That knowledge keeps me on my toes and keeps the adrenaline going the whole day. What a rush!

It almost seems like cheating getting paid thousands to have so much fun... :lmao:

 

[DorkSterr]

I just love shooting. And what comes with it, travelling, meeting new people and the gear!

 

[Tarayn]

That's a interesting way to look at things, I will remember that if I get stressed at my next wedding.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

I don't have the passions.

I just enjoy it.

 

[Tarayn]

@ dorksterr - Hopefully one day I will travel that would be pretty cool ++

 

[StandingBear1983]

Its magic, you catch moments in time which will never be the same again EVER, its the perfect companion for a guy like me that like to hike and travel a lot, the combination of the two are one of a kind thing, sometimes i travel to shoot and sometimes i shoot to travel, sometimes its just an excuse to go for a walk and see what i can find .

 

[kric2schaam626]

It's a puzzle for me, so many pieces that are supposed to fit together "perfectly" - and I won't stop until I have it figured out! Or my 1000 piece puzzle is on the floor again... in 1000 pieces... :er:

 

[Derrel]

Call me crazy (me ex-wife does!!!), but I just LOVE that doggone click! sound... is that awful or what??? Do I need counseling? Therapy? Electro-shock therapy?

 

[StandingBear1983]

Call me crazy (me ex-wife does!!!), but I just LOVE that doggone click! sound... is that awful or what??? Do I need counseling? Therapy? Electro-shock therapy?

Nothin' like that good ol' shutter sound in the mornin' boy!

 

[Buckster]

I dunno exactly what drives me, or even if I would call it "passionate", but there's definitely something going on in me that won't just let this photography thing go.

I caught the bug in 1969 when I was 10. That's when a neighbor showed me his fancy TLR and introduced me to the idea that taking a picture isn't just about pointing a camera at something and pressing the button that makes it go 'click' - common in my suburban household. No, a real photographer could do all KINDS of stuff and make a photo look any number of ways because they had CONTROL they used beyond just the shutter button when making a photo.

DOF was just the coolest thing I'd ever had explained to me at the time, and from the moment I looked down into that hood at the large ground glass screen, with it's upside down image of the world in front of me - I was totally hooked, and there was no turning back. What had been seen could not be unseen!

That was the summer that a man on the moon was walking around snapping photos with a Hasselblad, including the soon to be iconic "Earthrise". That was the summer that photography came out of nowhere, slammed me in the head full force from every direction, and took over a large part of my brain and my life.

I immediately bought a cheap point and shoot Kodak, which was all I could immediately afford on my 10 year old allowance, and started snapping. Then another cheap camera, and another, and another. At 19, finally with a decent job and a little money in my pocket, I started to get gear-serious, and got a used Nikon F Photomic. Still have it, love it and shoot with it occasionally - the thing is solid as a tank. More gear followed. More lenses, more cameras, more gizmos.

I poured over books and magazines to learn how to control it, filled notebooks full of settings to compare when I got my film back, and kept shooting - anything, everything, it didn't even matter what, though I've gone through plenty of genre phases where I concentrated on learning some particular aspect of photography.

And it just never stopped. I'm still buying gear, still reading everything I can get my hands on to keep learning how to control it, still shooting anything and everything. The only significant difference is that I've gone digital, so no more notebooks full of settings - I have EXIF for that, and no more binders and boxes full of negatives - I have hard drives and backup hard drives for the RAW files.

I got the bug at 10 years old. I'm 53 now - and it just never stopped. I don't see it ever stopping as long as I'm still breathing. I can't explain why it grabbed me the way it did and never let go - that would probably take a shrink, and I just don't care enough about the "why" to pursue an answer.

 

[imagemaker46]

I think the word passion is over-used by people when they talk about photography, but how they feel about it is what's most important to them personally. I have gone through years where I really just enjoyed going out with a camera and shooting flowers and birds. I have been working as a photographer for over 40 years, it is all I have ever done. It is a job, and like jobs comes with all the pressures and stresses of the work, some days not so much fun.

It has also allowed me to travel the world paid for by someone else, I've seen things and been to places that most people would only dream of, I have been able to create memories for other people... people I have never met and likely never will... they will never know who I am, or where the photo came from. Inspite of all the garbage, threats of violence, guns pointed in my face, dealing with idiots, and the new wunderkids chasing my spot on the food chain, it is the best job in the world. No passion, just always wanted to be the best I could be and make a difference with photographs on other people lives.

 

[KenC]

... the light that just makes me scream inside is early morning like or evening light. Even if I'm not photographing what I see, it just makes me feel so much better and seeing beautiful light in the sky or reflected on a tree ...

It isn't so much the light for me, although this is the best light, but just looking intently at everything and once in a while being just frozen by something I see, so much so that it seems as if the rest of the world has stopped. I can't tell you how many times someone has looked at one of my images and said: "I never would have noticed that." The more aware I am of all the detail around me, the happier I am, whether I'm photographing it or not.

 

[tirediron]

I don't know that it's so much a passion as the never-ending quest [for me] to nail 'that' moment and capture it forever. Maybe, when I eventually do nail it, I'll hang up the camera... who knows?

 

[jwbryson1]

Instant gratification. Plus, I can't draw for $hit so this enables my creative side to come out. Plus, I love being told by my FB friends that I took a good shot! (tongue in cheek)