MarkoKovacevic
Well-known
With switching into a new degree(from photography to finance) , being busy with school and work I haven't had the drive for photography anymore. I stopped trying new things in photoshop, exploring areas, etc.
I do still have a ricoh GR that I take everywhere but life is so busy that I seem to always be in the same areas with nothing new.
Have you guys had this photographic slump, and how have you gotten past it? I even bought VSCO filters on my phone with the intention of casually shooting and editing more, but it hasn't happened.
I do still have a ricoh GR that I take everywhere but life is so busy that I seem to always be in the same areas with nothing new.
Have you guys had this photographic slump, and how have you gotten past it? I even bought VSCO filters on my phone with the intention of casually shooting and editing more, but it hasn't happened.
seany65
Well-known
Yup, I've had quite a few 'slumps'.
1) Usually caused by not being any good at 'seeing' a photo before taking it and thus thinking I'd never produce anything worth looking at.
2) Or wanting/thinking that I need various bits of kit and not being able to afford them, and so thinking I couldn't produce anything worth looking at.
3) Over the past year I've bought six cameras. Six cameras I'd never planned to buy and 5 of which I hadn't known existed. I did just want a yashica mat 124g and a bronica etrsi (I'd had these previously but see points 1 and 2 above) to go with my nikon f301 (which I hadn't wanted or planned on getting but I bought one on a whim from ebay and I like it). Now I am in the middle of putting a film through each to see if they work properly. I've put 2 films through my Ricoh 500GX and have just taken the colour film I put through my Agfa Super Solinette and the roll of XP2 I put through my Ansco Super Regent to the lab. It will be a week or so before I see the results.
Ha! Over a week to see the results. Take that ruddy 'digital' and your "let's see the results instantly and thus miss out on the waiting and wondering and the 'tension'. "
Many of the shots are basically the same on each roll so that I've got a comparison for each shot, (but some pics are different), so we'll have to see how my photography develops (pun half not intended) once I'm passed the testing the cameras stage.
So far I've done four films in one year. This is more than I've ever done in one year, and (embarrassingly) is probably near a third of all the films I've ever done.
So I'd suggest in getting a few cheap cameras that you like the look of and test them. It won't matter too much about whether the pics are 'photographically' any good and so that pressure will be off, and you may find yourself trying to look for some different images for each camera so that the films won't give all the same images.
1) Usually caused by not being any good at 'seeing' a photo before taking it and thus thinking I'd never produce anything worth looking at.
2) Or wanting/thinking that I need various bits of kit and not being able to afford them, and so thinking I couldn't produce anything worth looking at.
3) Over the past year I've bought six cameras. Six cameras I'd never planned to buy and 5 of which I hadn't known existed. I did just want a yashica mat 124g and a bronica etrsi (I'd had these previously but see points 1 and 2 above) to go with my nikon f301 (which I hadn't wanted or planned on getting but I bought one on a whim from ebay and I like it). Now I am in the middle of putting a film through each to see if they work properly. I've put 2 films through my Ricoh 500GX and have just taken the colour film I put through my Agfa Super Solinette and the roll of XP2 I put through my Ansco Super Regent to the lab. It will be a week or so before I see the results.
Ha! Over a week to see the results. Take that ruddy 'digital' and your "let's see the results instantly and thus miss out on the waiting and wondering and the 'tension'. "
Many of the shots are basically the same on each roll so that I've got a comparison for each shot, (but some pics are different), so we'll have to see how my photography develops (pun half not intended) once I'm passed the testing the cameras stage.
So far I've done four films in one year. This is more than I've ever done in one year, and (embarrassingly) is probably near a third of all the films I've ever done.
So I'd suggest in getting a few cheap cameras that you like the look of and test them. It won't matter too much about whether the pics are 'photographically' any good and so that pressure will be off, and you may find yourself trying to look for some different images for each camera so that the films won't give all the same images.
Ko.Fe.
Lenses 35/21 Gears 46/20
I was never into photography while I was busy.
Don't know why I didn't started family photography on bw film much more earlier...
Don't know why I didn't started family photography on bw film much more earlier...
Vincent.G
Well-known
Live a life and photos will come.
f16sunshine
Moderator
One thing that helps if you use an older digital camera is to get a wifi card to transfer to a mobile device and to social.
I had a GR as well and used a Toshiba Flashair card.
I've used the same wifi card with M8, X100, XE1, and 5D.
By doing so I could quickly have those images on my iPhone and send jpegs to flickr and to friends/family.
It makes a difference if you don't have to wait to get back to the office to transfer.
RAW images were still on the card to conduct "proper" edits for printable images (not many of those if I'm honest).
Maybe you have the GR Mk2 which already has wifi I believe...
I had a GR as well and used a Toshiba Flashair card.
I've used the same wifi card with M8, X100, XE1, and 5D.
By doing so I could quickly have those images on my iPhone and send jpegs to flickr and to friends/family.
It makes a difference if you don't have to wait to get back to the office to transfer.
RAW images were still on the card to conduct "proper" edits for printable images (not many of those if I'm honest).
Maybe you have the GR Mk2 which already has wifi I believe...
skucera
Well-known
Marko,
I've had several periods when I didn't do photography:
When I was in the Navy... I was too busy with AOCS, Bombardier/Navigator training, then Radar Intercept Officer training, and even with time off it just never occurred to me to bring a camera. The only art I did at all was to draw girls' faces on cocktail napkins... quite an effective pick-up move for a junior officer with an art degree. After the Navy it took several months before I realized that I had time to go take photos.
The next period was after a lay-off. I was just too busy looking for work and fretting about how to keep my family housed and fed on unemployment benefits. It was compounded when my toddler daughter pulled my EOS 650 off the dining room table, breaking the lens and the focusing screen. It was a dark time.
There have been other times when stress and O/T have been up at work, and this naturally cuts the urge to go out with a camera and take beautiful pictures. However, with time and a reduction in stress, your eye will begin seeing photographic possibilities and you'll wish you had a good camera on you. That will lead to you grabbing your camera on the way out of the house, and a return to photography. All things come in cycles, and your photographic drive will eventually return.
Scott
I've had several periods when I didn't do photography:
When I was in the Navy... I was too busy with AOCS, Bombardier/Navigator training, then Radar Intercept Officer training, and even with time off it just never occurred to me to bring a camera. The only art I did at all was to draw girls' faces on cocktail napkins... quite an effective pick-up move for a junior officer with an art degree. After the Navy it took several months before I realized that I had time to go take photos.
The next period was after a lay-off. I was just too busy looking for work and fretting about how to keep my family housed and fed on unemployment benefits. It was compounded when my toddler daughter pulled my EOS 650 off the dining room table, breaking the lens and the focusing screen. It was a dark time.
There have been other times when stress and O/T have been up at work, and this naturally cuts the urge to go out with a camera and take beautiful pictures. However, with time and a reduction in stress, your eye will begin seeing photographic possibilities and you'll wish you had a good camera on you. That will lead to you grabbing your camera on the way out of the house, and a return to photography. All things come in cycles, and your photographic drive will eventually return.
Scott
Bob Michaels
nobody special
Most here will not like my cure for a slump as it has nothing to do with equipment or processes. Mine was time and focus.
I spent around 12 years from the mid 70's to mid 80's with much time dedicated to wandering around photographing whatever appeared interesting. I had a nice darkroom and was burning through 100' spools of film both b&w and chrome. Realizing I was directionless, I joined a camera club and began to focus on the monthly competitions. But in less than two years, I concluded that I could make photos that complied with the rotating judges formulas and could consistently win or place. But my photos seemed to be without meaning, only on that months theme and formulaic to please the judges. I began to spend time studying the work of significant photographers and realized I was accomplishing little with my own photography. Plus, I was feeling pressure to photograph as that was what I did and had all this equipment and darkroom.
So I quit photographing. I ended up selling my darkroom, cameras, lenses. Several years later I moved and threw away all my notebooks, negatives, contact sheets, and prints other than a few family photos. I kept one SLR and one lens making only family happy snaps for over a decade. I felt relieved that I had gotten the monkey off my back.
Much later while visiting our local history museum, I saw a photo exhibit of the demise of farmworkers in our local area due to decreased emphasis on agriculture. I related to the subject and did some personal exploration. That led to photographing some of what I was exploring. I realized there was a story beginning to come out of my photos. I was back into making photos but the emphasis was on the subject not the photography. It was no more than the means to an end. I began to exhibit, not to sell but only as a way to convey my stories. Early in my resurgence, I concluded that I was better off by refusing to sell prints or do photo work for hire. That allows me to do only what I want to do without any influence to please anyone else. I am reasonably generous in giving away my work. This is permitted since I only give to those who I want to have. I have a limited edition (200 copies) book. If you have a copy, it is because I wanted you to not because you paid.
So the way I broke out was a focus on the subject and communicating information about the subject rather than photography. I no longer am bothered when I haven't made a photo in a month. I can consider cameras and lenses as no more than tools to accomplish an objective. I do work only on defined stories although I am open to trying a new series for long enough to see whether it will work or not. I do like exhibiting as that is a way to convey my message. While commercial galleries have no interest because of my refusal to sell, there are more than enough opportunities in educational and municipal venues. I actually prefer libraries over galleries simply because there are more people who pass through. My work is in societal niches rather than being universal but that does not bother me as that is a conscious decision of my own making. I simply feel like I am in control and not driven by implicit desires of others.
YMMV
I spent around 12 years from the mid 70's to mid 80's with much time dedicated to wandering around photographing whatever appeared interesting. I had a nice darkroom and was burning through 100' spools of film both b&w and chrome. Realizing I was directionless, I joined a camera club and began to focus on the monthly competitions. But in less than two years, I concluded that I could make photos that complied with the rotating judges formulas and could consistently win or place. But my photos seemed to be without meaning, only on that months theme and formulaic to please the judges. I began to spend time studying the work of significant photographers and realized I was accomplishing little with my own photography. Plus, I was feeling pressure to photograph as that was what I did and had all this equipment and darkroom.
So I quit photographing. I ended up selling my darkroom, cameras, lenses. Several years later I moved and threw away all my notebooks, negatives, contact sheets, and prints other than a few family photos. I kept one SLR and one lens making only family happy snaps for over a decade. I felt relieved that I had gotten the monkey off my back.
Much later while visiting our local history museum, I saw a photo exhibit of the demise of farmworkers in our local area due to decreased emphasis on agriculture. I related to the subject and did some personal exploration. That led to photographing some of what I was exploring. I realized there was a story beginning to come out of my photos. I was back into making photos but the emphasis was on the subject not the photography. It was no more than the means to an end. I began to exhibit, not to sell but only as a way to convey my stories. Early in my resurgence, I concluded that I was better off by refusing to sell prints or do photo work for hire. That allows me to do only what I want to do without any influence to please anyone else. I am reasonably generous in giving away my work. This is permitted since I only give to those who I want to have. I have a limited edition (200 copies) book. If you have a copy, it is because I wanted you to not because you paid.
So the way I broke out was a focus on the subject and communicating information about the subject rather than photography. I no longer am bothered when I haven't made a photo in a month. I can consider cameras and lenses as no more than tools to accomplish an objective. I do work only on defined stories although I am open to trying a new series for long enough to see whether it will work or not. I do like exhibiting as that is a way to convey my message. While commercial galleries have no interest because of my refusal to sell, there are more than enough opportunities in educational and municipal venues. I actually prefer libraries over galleries simply because there are more people who pass through. My work is in societal niches rather than being universal but that does not bother me as that is a conscious decision of my own making. I simply feel like I am in control and not driven by implicit desires of others.
YMMV
Dogman
Veteran
Yes. But my slump came from burnout and lasted several years.
I put in just over 15 years at a daily newspaper, shooting general assignments. I was pretty good at it, won several awards and worked on some pretty plum assignments. I also had frequent freelance work with wire services and news magazines. But newspapers were beginning to die all over the country. The afternoon paper in town shut down and my paper--the larger, morning paper--was bought by a news syndicate whose goal was corporate profits, not quality journalism. We faced an endless chain of rotating editors and publishers who brought increasing job stresses. As the newspaper declined in quality and became less relevant, I became disillusioned with every aspect of my job. I eventually had had enough so I took a lower paying job in a completely different field. Free of the daily grind of photo assignments, something happened. When I attempted to shoot family or vacation photos, I found I had no more interest in taking pictures. So I stopped.
That slump lasted for just over seven years. What brought me out of it is still unclear. I realize now that I never really lost interest in photography but I couldn't force myself to actually practice it. At some point in the late 1990's, I started reading photo magazines again. Later on, I even bought a new camera--one with autofocus, something I had never used before. I started to experiment with different films. I set up a darkroom and started printing again. And I started to devour books--books of photography and art of all genres. My interest wasn't just rekindled, it was blazing! Today, the darkroom is gone and I'm shooting with digital cameras. Enlargers by Leitz, Omega and LPL have been replaced with iMac and Epson. But my approach is still the same.
I'm still uncertain as to what moved me out of the slump. It was probably because I've always been a creative sort and I returned to a familiar way of channeling my creative side. In my opinion, if you are truly, deeply involved with photography, you will find your own way out of your slump. You may not recognize the moment, but it will come.