Photographing without any motive

I do all the time. I gain inspiration from what I see, without preconception. My only motivation is to find something visually interesting. I know others go out with projects in mind, I am just being more open to what might be found.
 
I do this all the time, also.
Some famous photographer (I forget who) said "I want to see what the picture of it looks like", or something close to that.
I am the same way - the picture of something often has a life of it's own. The picture becomes something in and of itself, somewhat separate from the objects it shows.
That's how I feel about it.
Kind of like a painting - that bowl of cherries and apples is worthless, and actually kind of ugly, but the painting of it is beautiful.
 
The reason I asked this question was prompted by my lack of inspiration these days.

I wondered if one could just photograph without any motive because after all motive implies having a preconception of what sort of photograph one wants and when that cannot be put into practice there is burn-out.

I personally feel that I have too many photos of others in my mind that I fail to be happy with my own photos. And my motives are influenced by the work of others, which means constant frustration.

If I could photograph without any motive, maybe I'll find out what I really want in photos rather than trying to make other people's photos.
 
daveleo said:
I do this all the time, also.
Some famous photographer (I forget who) said "I want to see what the picture of it looks like", or something close to that.
I am the same way - the picture of something often has a life of it's own. The picture becomes something in and of itself, somewhat separate from the objects it shows.
That's how I feel about it.
Kind of like a painting - that bowl of cherries and apples is worthless, and actually kind of ugly, but the painting of it is beautiful.
Click to expand...

Garry Winogrand. Said his only intention for photography was to see what things looked like when photographed. And contested that his pictures were showing reality, since the subject looked different when it was frozen in time and captured on a flat surface. And right he was.
 
daveleo said:
Some famous photographer (I forget who) said "I want to see what the picture of it looks like", or something close to that.
Click to expand...

Winogrand. http://www.jnevins.com/garywinograndreading.htm

I don't think one needs a declared theme before one takes photos, for the photos to be good. It's not like you have to figure out how that next frame will fit in the magnus opus before you take it. After all, everyone shoots a lot of worthless stuff to get to the good ones. Including Winogrand, or especially him.
 
Hsg said:
The reason I asked this question was prompted by my lack of inspiration these days.

I wondered if one could just photograph without any motive because after all motive implies having a preconception of what sort of photograph one wants and when that cannot be put into practice there is burn-out.

I personally feel that I have too many photos of others in my mind that I fail to be happy with my own photos. And my motives are influenced by the work of others, which means constant frustration.

If I could photograph without any motive, maybe I'll find out what I really want in photos rather than trying to make other people's photos.
Click to expand...

I would say that even if your photography seems motivated by the ideas of others' photographs in your head, when you take a picture, that is still your picture! There s nothing wrong with feeding your brain with inspiration from others, IMO. Don't get hung up on that, just go ahead and shoot.

Sometimes you need a rest though. Or sometimes other factors in your life sap away your creative energy. Just ride that out, it's temporary.
 
FrankS said:
I would say that even if your photography seems motivated by the ideas of others' photographs in your head, when you take a picture, that is still your picture! There s nothing wrong with feeding your brain with inspiration from others, IMO. Don't get hung up on that, just go ahead and shoot.

Sometimes you need a rest though. Or sometimes other factors in your life sap away your creative energy. Just ride that out, it's temporary.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your supporting words.

At some point every photographer wants to have something personal, just for himself. And when I go through my work that feeling is not there. My photos seem to me to be bad copies of other people who's work I admire.

This is why I thought if I could just photograph without any motive, maybe I'll find out what is it that I want photographed instead of just going through the motions. In fact I'm bored of going through the motions.

Its not that I'm seeking originality, its just that I want to find if there are photos out there other than copies of what I already know.
 
Many if not most creative people feel like you do at some time. Think of it as a period of growth. A shedding off of old, too-tight skin. You are no longer satisfied with the status quo, but just haven't yet figured out where to go next. Do you have a passion, something or someone that you feel strongly about? My father often inspires me to photograph him. If I were to get a new girlfriend (no, I'm married) she would be my muse. ;)
 
Pick a location, not too far from your home, easily accessed, that has something (or some things) of visual interest. Then, take many dozens of pictures of that particular location over the course of a few months or even a year. Go early in the morning, late in the afternoon, maybe even in the dark. Work from every angle. Really look. Randomly and then carefully compose. Change depth of field, distance, direction, orientation, cameras, lenses and ISO.

I guarantee you will get some good pictures of your own original creation.

This is easily the 25th picture I took of this swing, over the course of several months. It is my favorite one (so far).


A Swing by sreed2006, on Flickr
 
Here is another view of the park bench in the picture above, taken when I was near my absolute lowest ebb on photography. You can only stand so many lousy pictures in a row, right?


Happy Face by sreed2006, on Flickr
 
I can relate to this topic as I have recently been coming up dry in photographing. What I do is I turn to my GRD4 or my 25mm, and just go about randomly snapping without much thought.

The freedom in not expecting much while in a relaxed state of mind, is invigorating. At this point, the results is not that much of a key factor, but the process.
 
aizan said:
yeah, it's called accidentally pressing the shutter when you only meant to meter. ;)
Click to expand...


This is where AE locking with a half press of the shutter can be interesting ... especially after too much coffee! :D
 
Hsg said:
Thanks for your supporting words.

At some point every photographer wants to have something personal, just for himself. And when I go through my work that feeling is not there. My photos seem to me to be bad copies of other people who's work I admire.
Click to expand...


The cure is to keep at it.
At some point, you should experience your "A-ha" moment, and usually it's followed by a revelation on what exactly the role of photography in your life.
 
johannielscom said:
Garry Winogrand. Said his only intention for photography was to see what things looked like when photographed. And contested that his pictures were showing reality, since the subject looked different when it was frozen in time and captured on a flat surface. And right he was.
Click to expand...

Yeah exactly, I was going to mention Winogrand. He is regarded as an artistic genius in some circles for actualizing this concept (I admire his work myself - an amateur shutter bug like me can't speak to the artistic profundity of it though). I think like Hsg and Winogrand, many of us here have some of this impulse wired into us.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom