How important is photography to you?

[oftheherd]

There was a time when photography was as to live and breath. Life has gotten in the way. Part of it was the area where I live and commute to work. Part of it was a house fire some 18 years ago. Losing some of my photo gear, worse, my negatives and slides being damaged, took a lot of pleasure out of it for me some how.

Modern digital has taken its toll too. So many people today, even those who have an extra lens or two, are not beyond snapshooting. They don't know about f/stops or exposure control. Development is what you do when the run down area is razed and new projects are built. What do you say after hello?

I do keep a camera around most of the time. It may be a digital P&S, a Canonet or XA, or an SLR. It may stay in my car as I can't bring a camera to my work. When possible, I do take photos. I still watch for photo ops, but driving at 75 mph on highway 95 is not condusive to phtography. Nor is Washington DC traffic.

On vacation, I will have some 35mm, probably an SLR along with a small RF. I may have a MF folder or the Super Press 23, and maybe even a 9x12 for LF. Vacations can be much more relaxed, or not. "I don't want to sit in the car while you take a picture there." "If you need that camera why did you leave it in the car?" Sigh.

😀

 

[johannielscom]

Interesting Post count JSU: 4,294,967,284.

What does that make your average on say, today?

😀😀

 

[jsrockit]

Right now, it is extremely important and a camera goes with me most of the time. However, I just came off of 10 years without bothering with photography. I got burnt out after 10 years prior of bringing a camera everywhere. I guess I'm the type to go crazy, then feel the need to reset.

 

[craygc]

Live it, love it, breathe it...

My wife, kids and family and being able to support them are number one, but photography is who I am, what centers me, and what I escape to. For me, I photograph Asia - end of story - so in terms of holidays it depends on where I'm going as whether I even bother with a camera. I don't use disposables but I will use a phone cam in a pinch. When I do shoot, I always carry at least 2 cameras - not necessarily the same type...

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

For me it's more important than any other activity... I know I will do it until I die... It's become, slowly and without my intention, something I need if I want peace of mind... I can't even imagine my life without shooting... Just like my body needs air and water, my soul needs to photograph... The intense pleasure it gives me is deep and complete time after time. An adventure, a dream and a mystery...

Cheers.

Juan

 

[hipsterdufus]

For me it's more important than any other activity... I know I will do it until I die... It's become, slowly and without my intention, something I need if I want peace of mind... I can't even imagine my life without shooting... Just like my body needs air and water, my soul needs to photograph... The intense pleasure it gives me is deep and complete time after time. An adventure, a dream and a mystery...

Cheers.

Juan

This is pretty much how I feel. In an existential way, this is the thing that I have found that gives my life meaning. Once I got to the point where I didn't care what other people thought of my photography, I got infinitely more excited about my work. The "meaning" of my life may change from photography one day, but I doubt it. I get more excited about it the older I get. 😀

 

[rover]

I do it for enjoyment and self-fulfillment. I've been taking pictures since I was 6.

I don''t think any other statement here is closer to my thoughts. I simply enjoy photography. That being the case, it is part of what I do. I look at it as though I can photograph my life as I live it instead of photographing my life stepping back as others live it.

 

[sig]

for me there are a lot of other things that is more important than photography.,,,, Wife, kids and making them not starving and even better happy is way more important than any photographic adventure. If it is your job then it is very important (as in it is your bread winner) if it is a hobby most people can drop it within 1 second for real life.

On the other side... as long as it make me happy, and it does, why change it.

My 2 cent is that if you ask the question you have not been in a situation where you had to make a choice (and I have never been there), and in that situation everybody would drop or cameras and fix it for our loved ones.

 

[Charlie Lemay]

When I fill out a form that asks my religion, I always write in Photography.

 

[Ezzie]

I´m contemplating giving up at least two other hobbies to get more time for photography. Do I carry a camera most of the time? Yes. Better to have a camera and say "no, I don´t feel like it", than not have a camera and think "blast, if only I had a camera!"

 

[Ezzie]

It's an average of one post every second, 24/7, for the last 168 years. Which suggests I was interested in rangefinders before there were rangefinders.

No wonder "Life is too short"

 

[funkpilz]

It's a part of my life, and I always have a camera with me. I'm passionate about it, but that doesn't mean I'm good at it. I just spend a lot of time trying.

 

[wgerrard]

It’s a hobby. If and when I ever feel that photography is complicating my life, I’ll box things up. I.e., if I find myself worrying and fretting about it, then it is not serving its purpose.

More often than not, photography is an excuse to go somewhere new and take pictures. I enjoy minimal planning, semi-random walkabouts, with one camera and 2-3 lenses. If I drape the bag over my shoulder and decide it is too heavy, I’ll gladly take something out. I’d rather miss a shot or two than be uncomfortable all day or come home with a sore shoulder.

It’s funny, but I don’t bring a camera along when I visit out-of-town family and friends.

So... I doubt I’d go on vacation without a camera. I’ve never used a disposable, but I would if I had no other choice. Sometimes I take a little digital as a backup. I don't routinely carry a camera with me during the day. As I've said before, I really dislike carrying stuff. Don't even carry a phone.

How important is it? Shooting locally, and on a day-to-day basis, not that important. (I’m trying to break out of a bit of an “I can’t find anything to shoot!” funk.) Travel is often centered on the photography, perhaps too much.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

There are some things that are important to me that are not important to many other people. There are some things that I am an expert on, that a lot of people have never heard of or could not care less about. I am an expert on FORTRAN to the point of disassembling a compiler, finding the mistake in it, and correcting it. That goes beyond most FORTRAN programmers level of expertise.

But if something is important to someone else, and it is important to me- than I have found a friend to share it with. That is basically what RFF is about, a type of photography that most people have not heard of and that even more people do not care about. It is important enough to the members of this forum to join-up, learn about it, and to share experiences.

 

[oftheherd]

There are some things that are important to me that are not important to many other people. There are some things that I am an expert on, that a lot of people have never heard of or could not care less about. I am an expert on FORTRAN to the point of disassembling a compiler, finding the mistake in it, and correcting it. That goes beyond most FORTRAN programmers level of expertise.

But if something is important to someone else, and it is important to me- than I have found a friend to share it with. That is basically what RFF is about, a type of photography that most people have not heard of and that even more people do not care about. It is important enough to the members of this forum to join-up, learn about it, and to share experiences.

That's pretty much why I am at RFF (except that I am not a FORTRAN programmer 😀).

 

[Roger Hicks]

for me there are a lot of other things that is more important than photography.,,,, Wife, kids and making them not starving and even better happy is way more important than any photographic adventure. If it is your job then it is very important (as in it is your bread winner) if it is a hobby most people can drop it within 1 second for real life.

On the other side... as long as it make me happy, and it does, why change it.

My 2 cent is that if you ask the question you have not been in a situation where you had to make a choice (and I have never been there), and in that situation everybody would drop or cameras and fix it for our loved ones.

Well, I've not been there either, but then, it would be a meaningless choice for me as photography has been an essential part of my earning a living for the last 30+ years.

On the other hand, I know more than one photographer who has decided that photography is more important than relationships. Not consciously, in many cases, but actions speak louder than words.

Obviousy there's scope for willy-waving and boasting: "Photography is more important to me than to you, therefore I'm a better photographer/ human being/ artist/ whatever." There is of course no correlation between the two. What intrigues me is how many people take the same view as I do: photography is central, not peripheral. In other words, it's not an option: they (and I) I pretty much have to do it. I have immense difficulty in imagining life without it (though not as much as I have in imagining life without Frances).

Cheers,

R.

 

[Out to Lunch]

'Central' apart from making a living doing something completely different. 'Photography' includes spending many hours in the digital darkroom sorting through thousands of photos and trying to preserve/create something worthwhile. This said, if I'd be a 'professional photographer' (in the sense of making a living), I am sure I would have an equally absorbing interest in something completely different.

 

[KenR]

No camera = no fun

No camera = no fun

A few years ago my Bronica 645 died on the first day of a hiking vacation in Rocky Mountain National Park. I had no backup. Despite great hikes and great scenery (or becasue of this), I was misreable, cranky and a poor companion. I MUST have a camera with me to be happy.

 

[Roger Hicks]

'Central' apart from making a living doing something completely different. 'Photography' includes spending many hours in the digital darkroom sorting through thousands of photos and trying to preserve/create something worthwhile. This said, if I'd be a 'professional photographer' (in the sense of making a living), I am sure I would have an equally absorbing interest in something completely different.

Dear Peter,

Surprisingly many of the best professional photographers I know are, in fact, obsessed with photography and have relatively few 'hobbies', though many are also fond of fast cars or motorcycles or good food.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Lilserenity]

Massively important, I go few places without my M2. Simple as that really!