burn out?

back alley

back alley

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most creative types eventually burn out...some forever, some for short bits and some fall into and out of it fairly regularly...
as photographers, do you ever feel burnt?
how would you describe 'burn out' for yourself, from your own experience...
 
Usually at this time of the year I'm not good at taking pictures. I print and reprint instead.
Upspring comes with longer light time.
 
Ko.Fe. said:
Usually at this time of the year I'm not good at taking pictures. I print and reprint instead.
Upspring comes with longer light time.
Click to expand...

Winter is a quiet time for me too, it's too dark before and after work and then rains every weekend. Sometimes I get bored of taking photos and think that I'm just producing the same images. I end up using a different camera/film and try something new, or look back through my/others' images for inspiration.
 
I go for a trip somewhere when I burn out. Come back with amazing ****, but don't feel like shooting this stupid city...also any time i go to a museum or art gallery I feel a bump back on the horse.
 
Photography and music are the things I do to keep burning out from writing, which is my main thing and ostensibly what I make my living doing. (Well, the living mostly comes from teaching other people how to do it.) So, other creative endeavors that are very different from your main one! And sometimes they can inform and enhance your main thing, too.
 
"Burn out" is rather extreme. I prefer "temporary ebb in creativity and production".

How you choose to frame a problem may affect the outcome.
 
tom.w.bn said:
The term burn out is related to stress due to high workload or high emotional demand in a job. This is not so common in the creative business.
Click to expand...

But sometimes the stress comes from within. Creative endeavors such as art and music can indeed lead to stress that disables the artist. It can be the stress of not achieving one's expectations, of not getting recognition from others, or of not realizing one's unique vision. Or the other side: dealing with fame and the expectations that fame imposes (or self-imposes). A number of accomplished artists and musicians went through periods of stress-related substance abuse and depression because of one or more or these stresses.
There can be high emotional demand in the creative arts, just as in other kinds of work.
 
I think taking some time off is important to keep motivated. That's why you get annual leave from your job, that's why most people change their jobs from time to time to prevent burn-out. In my profession, everyone is expected to leave their positions after 4-6 years and make room for new, motivated people.
 
It depends... I generally never tire of the act of photography. Often, if I can get into a groove, it can be quite a rush. A bit of a high. Sometimes I do feel I'm approaching things the same ways and need to somehow mix it up, but tend to fall back into familiar patterns.

Where I feel some burn out, or at least lack of enthusiasm, is dealing with the tasks of image processing (BTW, I'm 100% digital capture, and I definitely produce a lot more due to this). Sometimes I feel like I'm being buried under a mountain of images. :) Yet, I can't stop creating images. I do go periods of non-shooting. Days or a week, perhaps. But at my current age (mid-40s), the feeling of mortality is starting to creep in, along with the thoughts of how much longer I'll be able to go about shooting relatively effortlessly. Therefore, there's a reluctance to scale back.
 
If you log the months like an accountant would, I have had much more "burnout time" than I've had "not-burnout time".
Although I appreciate photos and art from other people all the time, my personal bursts of inspiration are few and far between.
I just accept that and "take pictures" all the time that I know are not destined to be great art, but I enjoy them anyway.
 
Using different cameras, including switching between film and digital may help. If I were you Joe, I'd get a film camera, changing bag, developing tank, and a scanner.
 
I've been taking pictures but only in my yard. Some turned out nicely but for the most part no. I've just not felt like going anywhere.
 
Burn out - wasn't that something we did to our tires when we were young? :D

On a more serious note: It happens to me almost every, gloomy Danish winter for a couple of months. Usually that time is spent putting photos in the right folders on the hard drive and doing a little printing and reading photo related stuff. Also a good time to develop and scan the backlog.
 
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