Redseele
Established
Hi everyone,
It's been a few years since I started getting "seriously" into photography. The more I knew about it the more I acquired GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). Reading about photography in blogs, internet resources and magazines helped feed this: get a nice DSLR, then various lenses, then get into film photography, medium format, rangefinders, etc. I have learned a lot along the way in terms of photography equipment, methods and concepts, of course, but I feel that most of the media I continue to read is made precisely to elicit more GAS from readers: lens reviews, new systems, etc.
A few months ago I finally succumbed to the ultimate GAS: purchasing a Leica M3 with a Summicron 50 (a collapsible). I love it and since I purchased it I feel that my GAS is pretty much gone, especially since I discovered that I really love film photography, being slower, forcing me to think more and therefore forcing me to think of photography more as an art (made by an artist, not by simply an image capturer). Maybe it is the first time that I finally feel that I am completely happy with a camera, but maybe it's also the fact that I convinced myself that there's not a lot more to go for in terms of how gear will help me make my photography better. Also, once I got my Leica, I started getting more and more into the culture surrounding it, the history not only of the company and its products but also the actual photography a lot of very good photographers (Henri Cartier-Bresson, Frank Cappa and most of the Magnum people) have made with these cameras.
More and more I grow fascinated and inspired by photography itself and not just photographic gear. I think that's the point of photography to begin with, but I also think that unfortunately photography is also a system for selling stuff by ways of selling a "dream": that of the artistic endeavour of capturing images.
Anyhow, I found in the Leica Blog a great resource of ideas and inspiration, they run a ton of interviews and really well written articles on the way Leica users do their photography. I find much photographic inspiration (not copying them, but inspired by these people and their work) through that particular blog. I also have found one fabulous source of inspiration in the only magazine that I reckon is serious about photography as an art and not as a selling device: the British Journal of Photography.
However, I was wondering what about everyone else? Is anyone else done with GAS and are getting their inspiration from somewhere else? Would you mind sharing what your sources of inspiration are? Do you regularly check out certain blogs, websites, image sources, etc.?
Maybe it's just that I am still sort of new to photography, but I think I could really learn from people's experiences, resources, etc.
Sorry for the length, thank you for your time
It's been a few years since I started getting "seriously" into photography. The more I knew about it the more I acquired GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). Reading about photography in blogs, internet resources and magazines helped feed this: get a nice DSLR, then various lenses, then get into film photography, medium format, rangefinders, etc. I have learned a lot along the way in terms of photography equipment, methods and concepts, of course, but I feel that most of the media I continue to read is made precisely to elicit more GAS from readers: lens reviews, new systems, etc.
A few months ago I finally succumbed to the ultimate GAS: purchasing a Leica M3 with a Summicron 50 (a collapsible). I love it and since I purchased it I feel that my GAS is pretty much gone, especially since I discovered that I really love film photography, being slower, forcing me to think more and therefore forcing me to think of photography more as an art (made by an artist, not by simply an image capturer). Maybe it is the first time that I finally feel that I am completely happy with a camera, but maybe it's also the fact that I convinced myself that there's not a lot more to go for in terms of how gear will help me make my photography better. Also, once I got my Leica, I started getting more and more into the culture surrounding it, the history not only of the company and its products but also the actual photography a lot of very good photographers (Henri Cartier-Bresson, Frank Cappa and most of the Magnum people) have made with these cameras.
More and more I grow fascinated and inspired by photography itself and not just photographic gear. I think that's the point of photography to begin with, but I also think that unfortunately photography is also a system for selling stuff by ways of selling a "dream": that of the artistic endeavour of capturing images.
Anyhow, I found in the Leica Blog a great resource of ideas and inspiration, they run a ton of interviews and really well written articles on the way Leica users do their photography. I find much photographic inspiration (not copying them, but inspired by these people and their work) through that particular blog. I also have found one fabulous source of inspiration in the only magazine that I reckon is serious about photography as an art and not as a selling device: the British Journal of Photography.
However, I was wondering what about everyone else? Is anyone else done with GAS and are getting their inspiration from somewhere else? Would you mind sharing what your sources of inspiration are? Do you regularly check out certain blogs, websites, image sources, etc.?
Maybe it's just that I am still sort of new to photography, but I think I could really learn from people's experiences, resources, etc.
Sorry for the length, thank you for your time
Lawrence Sheperd
Well-known
Hi, Redseele. My photographic journey parallels yours to a certain degree, although I still battle the GAS monster on occasion. Like your M3, my Fuji X-E1 and its ability to use almost all of my legacy lenses with adapters has gone a long way towards ameliorating GAS. With that said, I still find myself tempted by the new glass offerings from Fuji.
You know, I find that our own gallery here on RFF is about all the inspiration that I need (not saying that there aren't some outstanding sites and blogs to be found elsewhere on the 'net.) The breadth and depth of the talent here always astounds me. I try to make it a point and look at the gallery at least once a day.
You know, I find that our own gallery here on RFF is about all the inspiration that I need (not saying that there aren't some outstanding sites and blogs to be found elsewhere on the 'net.) The breadth and depth of the talent here always astounds me. I try to make it a point and look at the gallery at least once a day.
aizan
Veteran
write a list of subject matter that is accessible. keep adding things to it as they come. pick one (don't agonize over which one) and have at it.
further down the line, you may find that the knowledge you gain from GAS helps you choose the right equipment for the task.
further down the line, you may find that the knowledge you gain from GAS helps you choose the right equipment for the task.
daveleo
what?
GAS is an incurable, chronic illness. The symptoms come and go but you are never really "cured".
I mentally separate the affliction of GAS with my picture-making. I consider them unrelated - this is how I personally don't let the GAS symptoms effect my picture-making.
Inspiration ? - it's everywhere. In fact, in all its forms (the internet, books, galleries, museums, libraries, websites), it's overwhelming.
I mentally separate the affliction of GAS with my picture-making. I consider them unrelated - this is how I personally don't let the GAS symptoms effect my picture-making.
Inspiration ? - it's everywhere. In fact, in all its forms (the internet, books, galleries, museums, libraries, websites), it's overwhelming.
Ko.Fe.
Lenses 35/21 Gears 46/20
I keep GAS on practical level. It means I purchased, (fixed), tried and sold many mediocre, average lens and many different cameras. If I don't use camera, lens - for sale.
But, I don't have my M Leica, yet
To be honest, to start to take pictures, instead of collecting prestige gear it must be inside of you.
I feel almost ill if I don't take picture within day or two. With iPhone or DSLR, RF, or old folder. Each camera has its own moment to use.
If you actually taking pictures.
It is - you want to take pictures for some reason, or you just not into photography.
Picture could be taken for any reason - trying different glass, family album, street, travel photography... You just have to have this internal need to take this and very moment with you or just learn something practically.
Looking at blogs and such for inspiration, not so sure. To find out how to get pictures better, may be.
IMO, HCB best pictures I have seen are not on Magnum site.
But, I don't have my M Leica, yet
To be honest, to start to take pictures, instead of collecting prestige gear it must be inside of you.
I feel almost ill if I don't take picture within day or two. With iPhone or DSLR, RF, or old folder. Each camera has its own moment to use.
If you actually taking pictures.
It is - you want to take pictures for some reason, or you just not into photography.
Picture could be taken for any reason - trying different glass, family album, street, travel photography... You just have to have this internal need to take this and very moment with you or just learn something practically.
Looking at blogs and such for inspiration, not so sure. To find out how to get pictures better, may be.
IMO, HCB best pictures I have seen are not on Magnum site.
L Collins
Well-known
Stop thinking of cameras and start thinking about photographs and what they might mean to you. Begin to think of your photography as a means to document YOUR life.
Read Robert Cole's DOING DOCUMENTARY WORK. Buy or lend Robert Frank's LONDON/WALES and VALENCIA 1952. Likewise Allen Ginsberg's BEAT MEMORIES.
For a good example of a life's work of simple documentation, see my late friend Paul Kwilecki's ONE PLACE, a compilation of his single-minded documentation of his hometown of Bainbridge GA over the course of 4 decades published by the Center For Documentary Studies at Duke University.
Paul was just a guy who liked to take pictures. He owned the local hardware store. I would go talk cameras and photography with him when I was in town. He was a simple, humble guy. His real vocation was simply documenting the life of the town.
His just published first book is exceptional. Alec Sloth calls it an "American Classic." Too bad he died before he saw it in print.
Read Robert Cole's DOING DOCUMENTARY WORK. Buy or lend Robert Frank's LONDON/WALES and VALENCIA 1952. Likewise Allen Ginsberg's BEAT MEMORIES.
For a good example of a life's work of simple documentation, see my late friend Paul Kwilecki's ONE PLACE, a compilation of his single-minded documentation of his hometown of Bainbridge GA over the course of 4 decades published by the Center For Documentary Studies at Duke University.
Paul was just a guy who liked to take pictures. He owned the local hardware store. I would go talk cameras and photography with him when I was in town. He was a simple, humble guy. His real vocation was simply documenting the life of the town.
His just published first book is exceptional. Alec Sloth calls it an "American Classic." Too bad he died before he saw it in print.
daveleo
what?
There is a supreme thread around here somewhere called "Camera Work" that links to some great photography !
Godfrey
somewhat colored
Look at photos. Look at photo books. Read "Art & Fear" by Ted Orland and David Bayles. Read "On Being A Photographer" by David Hurn. Read "Letting Go of the Camera" by Brooks Jensen. Learn about Josef Sudek, about Robert Frank, about Bill Brandt, Cindy Sherman, about Diane Arbus and Andre Kertesz, Annie Leibovitz, Pete Turner, Minor White, Richard Avedon, Joel Meyerowitz. Listen to the interviews on "The Candid Frame" podcast by Ibarionex Perello, listen to the LensWork podcast by Brook Jensen.
Shoot, study, shoot, study, shoot some more, study some more. Write about your ideas, your goals, your failures. Look around you. Look.
Inspiration is everywhere.
G
To see, one must open one's eyes.
Shoot, study, shoot, study, shoot some more, study some more. Write about your ideas, your goals, your failures. Look around you. Look.
Inspiration is everywhere.
G
To see, one must open one's eyes.
When I was a kid I collected stamps and had thousands of them. Now I have about 50 old film cameras. I can afford to buy old cameras better than I could afford buying all those stamps on my paper route earnings. I fail to see that there is a problem here.
MIkhail
-
My sources of inspiration are: paintings and drawings.
It used to be Magnum and such places for me, but not anymore. In fact, I hardly look at photo albums and such material any more, much less than before anyway.
I realized that there is no point to chew something that already been chewed by somebody else. Go straight to sources: Picasso, Magritte, Muro, Degas and likes. Further- Breughel, Titan, Delacroix… You cannot go wrong there.
P.S.
In fact, if you look at work of any truly innovative and interesting photographer of 20-th century (I am talking art, not wedding or any utilitarian purpose stuff) you will find that it stems from these aforementioned and other artists, one way or another. It’s the routs. You just cannot skip it.
It used to be Magnum and such places for me, but not anymore. In fact, I hardly look at photo albums and such material any more, much less than before anyway.
I realized that there is no point to chew something that already been chewed by somebody else. Go straight to sources: Picasso, Magritte, Muro, Degas and likes. Further- Breughel, Titan, Delacroix… You cannot go wrong there.
P.S.
In fact, if you look at work of any truly innovative and interesting photographer of 20-th century (I am talking art, not wedding or any utilitarian purpose stuff) you will find that it stems from these aforementioned and other artists, one way or another. It’s the routs. You just cannot skip it.
Redseele
Established
MIkhail, this is a fantastic piece of advice. Thank you so much, I will definitely start doing this. I really want to take my photography towards the direction of art (even though most of my photography at this point is based on street photography) so I'm trying to look for information on how to compose better. I am also a film lover, so I'm also working on incorporating some of the particularities of film their film ideas to convey emotion and narrativity (people like Godard, Kieslowski, Wim Wenders, Ozu amongst others). In other words, trying to go back to the art itself.
Anyhow, these recommendations so far are really interesting. Thank you all
doolittle
Well-known
If you are interested in art, and haven't read it yet, get yourself a copy of The Story of Art by Ernst Gombrich.
Prest_400
Multiformat
For a few months I used to want a Fuji 6x9 RF really bad. Problem is that if I got that, I wouldn't have much left for film & processing.
Somewhere along the summer, a conversation with a layperson about printing being expensive turned my attention. Ended printing some snaps really cheaply but well. Triggered interest in printing.
I ended learning about matting and framing online. I still have got to do the bigger prints and buy the material; but I bet it will be nice (it burns $$$ too however!).
Sometimes we get too focused on little relevance things such as gear. I happen to have little printed work (Digital + Slides). And it's getting me off the rut.
Somewhere along the summer, a conversation with a layperson about printing being expensive turned my attention. Ended printing some snaps really cheaply but well. Triggered interest in printing.
I ended learning about matting and framing online. I still have got to do the bigger prints and buy the material; but I bet it will be nice (it burns $$$ too however!).
Sometimes we get too focused on little relevance things such as gear. I happen to have little printed work (Digital + Slides). And it's getting me off the rut.
farlymac
PF McFarland
Some folks are perfectly happy with the one camera-one lens mode of photography. Others like to have a fully capable system, so they can explore all facets of photography. Then there are the gear nuts like myself who like to think they can get a good photo from whatever piece of equipment they have, and wish to experience all the little mechanical marvels and oddities that are out there.
But the inspiration part has to come from within. Be it a personal project, or just an experimentation, you have to be able to see it in a way that what is captured on the film matches what was in your head. Sometimes, this can be done with a simple set-up. And other times, it takes quite a bit of gear to get the shot. You can sometimes take just as good a photo with a P&S, as with the most expensive equipment out there.
There are only four things needed for photography. Light. Film. Camera. Lens. How you put that all together determines what you can get out of it. An uninspired photo is no better just because it was taken with a Leica. An inspired photo can look great taken with a pinhole camera.
But I hope you do find the inspiration, because that is what makes photography so wonderful.
PF
But the inspiration part has to come from within. Be it a personal project, or just an experimentation, you have to be able to see it in a way that what is captured on the film matches what was in your head. Sometimes, this can be done with a simple set-up. And other times, it takes quite a bit of gear to get the shot. You can sometimes take just as good a photo with a P&S, as with the most expensive equipment out there.
There are only four things needed for photography. Light. Film. Camera. Lens. How you put that all together determines what you can get out of it. An uninspired photo is no better just because it was taken with a Leica. An inspired photo can look great taken with a pinhole camera.
But I hope you do find the inspiration, because that is what makes photography so wonderful.
PF
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Are you mistaking this for a forum where the majority of people care about pictures rather than equipment? You may be in for a bit of a surprise...
I heartily second Godfrey, MIkail and Doolittle. And, go to as many exhibitions as you can, such as Arles. See for example http://www.rogerandfrances.com/subscription/arles 2010.html (about Arles).
Cheers,
R.
I heartily second Godfrey, MIkail and Doolittle. And, go to as many exhibitions as you can, such as Arles. See for example http://www.rogerandfrances.com/subscription/arles 2010.html (about Arles).
Cheers,
R.
Redseele
Established
Oh, not at all. But I've just been puzzled all along about things outside of forums, particularly magazines, photography blogs, etc. As someone suggested above, I realise looking at the uploaded pictures section reveals quite a different dimension to of an obsession with gear
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Sorry: rhetorical question. But REALLY, go to exhibitions. What you see on screen is rarely one tenth as good as a real print on the wall. If what you see on screen is better than a real print, that tells you a lot too.Oh, not at all. But I've just been puzzled all along about things outside of forums, particularly magazines, photography blogs, etc. As someone suggested above, I realise looking at the uploaded pictures section reveals quite a different dimension to of an obsession with gear
Cheers,
R.
mfogiel
Veteran
As a general advice: if you care more about the images you take, than about gear, then a good idea would be to sell your DSLR stuff and buy a first class scanner instead.
As to inspiration, it is a personal affair, but the true and trusted rule of photography is: it never gets boring to take good photographs of people: how they look(portraits) and how they behave (street, reportage, etc). You have plenty of good examples of how others have done this with the same gear you have: from Cartier Bresson, Erwitt, Koudelka, to contemporaries like Gary Stochl and James Ravillious.
As to inspiration, it is a personal affair, but the true and trusted rule of photography is: it never gets boring to take good photographs of people: how they look(portraits) and how they behave (street, reportage, etc). You have plenty of good examples of how others have done this with the same gear you have: from Cartier Bresson, Erwitt, Koudelka, to contemporaries like Gary Stochl and James Ravillious.
Prest_400
Multiformat
That is a good one Roger!
When Damaso put his exhibition in Barcelona last year I could pass by to see it. Really nice!
Sometimes you fall into GAS or technical mumbo-jumbo, seeing prints on a wall properly gets the shooting side back on.
hepcat
Former PH, USN
Redseele... you're... a... photographer? <gasp> Don't tell anyone here!
Seriously, forums today are largely about equipment, not about the art of photography. I enjoy some of the threads here precisely because they ARE about photography and not the gear. Frankly, the gear is only important insofar as you can do with it what you want to accomplish and get results that you're happy with. Lens comparison charts are great for engineers to argue about. In the real world of photography, they're a distraction.
You want inspiration? What, (besides photography) are your interests? There's an old saw about writing... "write about what you know." Photography is much the same. Photograph what you know about, the way you see it, and then the way you want it to be seen. There's enough stuff around you to last you a lifetime.