Am I the only one this happens to?

[Goodyear]

Just got half a dozen rolls back from the lab - C41, E6, fast BW I don't have suitable dev for - shot with a variety of gear (from my Bessa L to my Autocord), and out of the whole lot there isn't one... NOT ONE frame that leaps out at me as even halfway good.

It helps a little that these are rolls that have built up over about 4 months waiting for the lab, rather than the last half-dozen I've shot... but still.

Almost enough to make me stick the whole lot (gear that is, not pics 🙂 ) on the 'bay.

Ah well.

Now, I must shoot more to get over it! 😀

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Maybe you are being too hard on yourself. Have you shown them to family and friends? What do they think? You can always knit-pick your own shots to death, and sometimes the camera just does not catch how you saw the scene.

But it does happen to everyone. I have had some rolls that NO ONE will see, but me.

The right thing to do is share the photo's with others, and continue on as you are doing. The next batch will always be better keeping what you do not like about the past batch in mind.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Mark, you probably need a change of scene: go out and photograph a place you've never been to...

That, or change your shooting habits. For instance, squat every time you photograph just to get a different perspective of the subject. Try never to photograph anything while you are standing up.... I don't know if I'm making any sense... 🙁

But don't worry, we all get through creative droughts (or times in which nothing seems good). When that kind of feeling strikes, I go back to looking at my favorites from my collection.

But if it makes you feel better, one day last year I had absolutely no problem tossing an envelope from the lab, negs and all, in the garbage can. Not one was worth keeping. Oh, well...

 

[FrankS]

Mark, believe me it happens to every one of us!

It is not a waste though. Look carefully at each photo, try to remember why you took the shot, and try to analyze why it was not successful. You can learn a lot more from your mistakes than you can from your successes.

 

[Pherdinand]

Yes, i have this sometimes. Quite often, in fact.
I also think that this GAS thing is really just GAS and it's actually working against improving my photography. I have so many different tools, i hardly can get used to one gear and use it as a natural extension...And i spend more time talking about it (here+photo.net) and looking for new gear, than taking those damn pictures! which is counter productive.

 

[sooner]

Mark,

I totally sympathize. Was just telling a coworker that if I get a few real keepers off a roll of film then I'm doing okay. So far, my interest in photography may result in fewer godawful shots but not too many truly good ones. Frank has it right, we just have to keep shooting and allowing others to critique. That hardly alleviates the disappointment, though.....John.

 

[back alley]

pick a day or roll!

 

[MrRanger]

Mark,

A wise man once told me; "If you don't make a mistake, you're not trying hard enough". 🙂

Mike 😀

 

[Roger Hicks]

Let it rest. Come back to them. You'll see some good ones.

Partly it's 'picture fatigue' -- I get that a LOT when going through hundreds of images for articles, books, picture libraries, etc.

Partly its that you saw some pics you didn't like -- we all get bad rolls, sometimes several in a row -- and then decided you weren't any good. Even stuff that is good, doesn't look it.

And partly it's some pics are more of a 'slow burn': they are pics you grow to appreciate, not ones with immediate impact which doesn't always last.

Cheers,

Roger (www.rogerandfrances.com)

 

[reagan]

Amen on Frank's comment. Unfortunately, most of us don't spend ENOUGH time looking at our disappointments and TOO MUCH time looking at the ones we like; human nature I guess. But in reality, we can learn a lot more from the not-so-greats asking questions like, "What would make this a good shot?"

 

[RayPA]

...It is not a waste though. Look carefully at each photo, try to remember why you took the shot, and try to analyze why it was not successful. You can learn a lot more from your mistakes than you can from your successes.

This is great advice, and I agree completely. It's not a waste if you learn from it. You may want to try to get to processing earlier, so the feedback is quicker. Otherwise, you could be compounding "mistakes" without knowing it. 😀

 

[digitalox]

know the feeling

Maybe try sticking with one camera, one lens, one film and development that you like the most and do it for a while until your're happu with it. Practice with just this combo often as you can.

I did this and now I have a few combos I can always go back to for some satisfaction when new experiments aren't working out.

 

[jaapv]

This seems to be as good a place as any to point out that FM-forum has a photo-critique forum, where any member can post to have his skills torn to pieces (so to speak) by the other members. I would really like to see such a forum here.

 

[wlewisiii]

I know the feeling. But I'll also agree with everything said here. One thing that is sometimes useful it to set a roll aside for a month and then go back to the prints/negatives and see how they look then.

The other thing is to remember Mr. Adams' comment to the effect that 12 truely good shots a year is a good goal to work for. So far this year I've got one I'd consider in that category. Many others that are ok to good, but only one stone cold keeper.

William

 

[cp_ste.croix]

I have yet to take the picture I really wanted to take. This is sometimes due to my innacurate and emotional eye, and sometimes due to my own lack of skill...

For me, I just really hate not being good at things I want to be good at. So I don like Frank says, and perservere. It can get depressing sometimes, but on the other hand, every once in a while I take a picture that, though it wasn't the one I wanted to take, turns out nicely anyways...This apparently becomes more frequent with practice 🙂

Just make sure you're still having fun!

 

[Goodyear]

Wise words and good advice from you all. Thanks. 😀

I think it's mainly that (in my eyes) I've been on a bit of a roll the last couple of months, taking some of the shots that I like the most. And then the excitement of getting the sldies back... followed by the let down.

C'est la vie.

Frank - you're bang on the money about analyising why I don't like them. I'm trying to become much more considered in my image-making: and then when I fire off a roll for the hell of it and know I'm not trying, I still get annoyed at the poor results. You'd think I'd learn 😀 It's like I have the ideas, but sometimes (often/usually) lack the discipline to execute them properly and successfully.

Having just re-read my original post, it reads to me a little... I don't know, petulant? 'Oh, poor me'? 'Please cheer me up'? Adolescent?! 😱

Thanks for not reponding the way I would have 😀

Such a friendly community round here.