Why?

sillyphaunt · Dec 27, 2004

I thought it would be interesting to see what everyone elses motivation for doing photography is.. I think it gives different thingst o different people.

So.. Why did you get involved in Photography? What do you enjoy about it/what is your motivation?

I got involved in Photography when my daughter was born in May of 2003. Like any new parent I went camera crazy and have more than 1000 pictures of her from just the first year! :shock:

I have alwaya admired good photography, especially photography of people/children, and I am a perfectionist, so eventually I wanted to take GOOD pictures of her, not the snapshot type.

I started reading about photography and looking at photoblogs, and it made me want to try. I got a Fuji in October, and have been snapping shots like mad ever since.

I think what I like about photography the most is the "hunt". Going out and trying to capture the perfect shot, and then the moment you load the pictures up.. its like opening Christmas presents, you're all excited to see what you caught.

I have always wanted to paint and/draw, but I just dont have the skill, to me photography is another way of expressing myself visually.

Nytmair · Dec 27, 2004

Well when I was younger, probably about 8 or 9, my dad had a nice Nikon SLR (which I know have since he gave it to me

) and he taught me how to use it, focus, appeture, light meter, etc.... So i figured I had a good grasp on it and took a photography class my senior year of high school in 2002-2003. My teacher told me I was the best in the class, so that really motivated me. It was really relaxing to just go out and shoot, and also I wanted to be able to catch good photos on vacations and stuff like that.

Yeah, that's about it. I just plain like it... it's relaxing....

Scott WRG Editor · Dec 27, 2004

Only one thing inspired me to pick up a camera...

Though we broke up years ago we are still great friends and I'm still taking pictures. But she's the reason I started photography.

sillyphaunt · Dec 27, 2004

Aww she's purty Scott.

Aoide · Dec 27, 2004

I'm kind of a late bloomer like sillyphaunt. I would always take a ton of pictures when I would go on trips in high school and college, but I didn't think much about the kind of pictures I was taking.

I got a digital camera in the spring of 2003. I started taking a lot of pictures of students in my choir program and putting them up in the room for the kids to see. I would also take personal pictures here and there amongst the pictures of the students. Then the personal pictures became more and more. I started my regular blog in February 2004 and pictures started creeping onto that as well. I started a photoblog in September 2004 and have really been concentrating on that since September.

I like that it gets me out of the house and around to the interesting sites in my town. I'm such a beginner, but I'm having a lot of fun with it. And when you get that one good shot, it motivates you to get out there and get another and another.

Alison · Dec 27, 2004

Scott, she's quite the inspiration

Why....that's a good question. I took a course in b/w photography when I was a junior in high school. I wasn't terribly good at it, but I did enjoy it. I loved developing my own film and seeing how the shots turned out. It's probably in my genes, my father also has a love of photography.

For those of you who have been around a while, you know that my passion is portraits....specifically capturing the emotions of my subjects. I think that started after having children. I picked up a camera again after a long hiatus and started looking to capture them as they really were. If they were happy, great. But, if they were angry, or sad I wanted to capture that too. I really had no formal training, but I could spot the right lighting. I could feel if the composition was right.

I'm not entirely sure why I went into this as a "professional". My ex-husband had lost his job and we thought, "Why not?". Those first few shoots were nervewracking, but at the end it felt wonderful to provide a lasting memory of a fleeting moment for someone else. It's still all about the emotion for me. If my clients want standard poses and backgrounds, go to Target or Wal-Mart. I'll spend over an hour with a client and their child(ren) to make sure I get them as who they really are. I lay on the floor, play with them, stop for potty breaks, whatever it takes. I still have full time job elsewhere, so photography is something different for me. An escape from the world of finance into the world of art. I feel honored to capture people's weddings, or their newborn's first smile. That is why I do it.

ferny · Dec 27, 2004

I'm another one of those people who likes the arty side bit can't hold a pencil for toffee.

Xmetal · Dec 27, 2004

I did B&W Photography in High School and got a lot of my inspiration from what was going on around me, I used to borrow dads Pentax SLR and dissapear for days on end.

I moved onto Digital when my parents went out and bought the Powershot S45 that I use now and i've gone from nature photography to Automotive to People.

Mitica100 · Dec 27, 2004

When I was 9 I was given a cheap Japanese 35mm camera and two rolls of BW film. My father gave it to me and naturally, I photographed my father first. I didn't pay much attention to photography until that moment. Always wanting to get a better camera, I saved and saved until I had enough for a cheap Russian SLR, the Zenit B. That happened in 1973. :shock:

After coming to the US I befriended my boss who was into collecting rare cameras and who introduced me to the MF and LF photography. In 1983 I bought my first collector's camera, a Graflex D, 4x5 SLR box, a monster! At that point I knew I was going to collect cameras more than shooting. Until I acquired a Voigtlander Vitomatic with Skopar lens on which gave me the joy of wonderful BW pictures. From that moment on I was hooked.

The rest, as they say, is history...

Artemis · Dec 28, 2004

Well...I dunno...photography is a very odd thing for me.

I think it mainly drills down to, ive never been an Artist...not because I dont want to be, but I cant draw, or do anything that requires fine motor skills, without making a big mess.

I used to flog art of, saying that it is a waste of time, and I do feel that a good deal of art is rubbish, and that people think of it as an easy answer.

Ive tried to be a scientist...but, my lack of ability to spell and the realisation that I am not as smart as I thought I was, has made that dream not possible.

But now that photography has come along I have found something I can do, understand, enjoy at my young age, and have people help me.

Another reason is that if it wasnt for the TPF...I dont think I would still be into photography!