problems of not shooting enough

[thegman]

I know the area very well! I stayed there, with friends, on and off for about 18 months over the last few years (their address was officially Bonbeach but actually closer to Carrum; they've since moved to Texas). I was going to point you to some photos but, unaccountably, I seem to have none I took in the area online.

It is a very good part of the world to be. Quite close to the Mornington Peninsula, which has it's own landscapes and beachscapes (and a very tasty line in wineries as well). A bit of a long haul into Melbourne proper if you're working there (as I was and, again, am) but not too badly inconveniently so. For more "fully" natural environments you are also well served if you're prepared to travel a bit (yet not too far). You could certainly do a lot worse picking a place to live!

...Mike

P.S. Please feel free to PM me (or e-mail mike who-is-at mikefunnell d.o.t com) if you'd like any further info, background or whatever.

Thanks for the offer, perhaps I will. I went to a wedding on Mornington Peninsula, gorgeous views, but at that point I was not into photography at all, and didn't even have a camera phone...

I work from home now, so the distance to Melbourne-proper is no biggie for me.

Cheers

Garry

 

[daveleo]

Being retired and reasonably healthy, I do make a lot of pictures - never had this opportunity in my career years.
Always have a camera with me - even sitting on the porch !
I make "dave's life" photos every day, and I try to create and print one (1)
"artistic" photo every month (but that half of the equation gets tougher and tougher,
as I get more and more critical of what I consider "artistic").

 

[yanchep_mike]

Because i buy gear all the time (Constant Gas) i have to test cameras and lenses etc. So i shoot the same Tree, Fence, Gate etc. over and over, never gets boring.
My advice buy gear and have fun.

 

[Andrea Taurisano]

Because i buy gear all the time (Constant Gas) i have to test cameras and lenses etc. So i shoot the same Tree, Fence, Gate etc. over and over, never gets boring.
My advice buy gear and have fun.

Been there. Getting new gear does burst my eagernes to go out and use it, but with a focus shifted from photography to gear experience (which is nice too). On the contrary, enjoying the work that photographers whom I admire manage to achieve with very little gear (ex. a P&S) inspires me much more in the creative or artistic sense. But we are all different.

 

[Godfrey]

Lately, my time is consumed with work and things to do. But I usually have some kind of camera with me, even if it's just my iPhone or iPad mini, and manage to snatch a few photos as moments permit.

Many projects in mind also helps. As I shoot, I think about what photos might fit what project. If its crappy out, I have a project that needs tabletop and indoor shots. If its nice out, I think about the projects that want me to be out and about.

Then there's the backlog of rendering work to do, the books that need to be designed, etc etc. there's never really any reason to stop doing photography unless I want to do something else.

G

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Not enough time, no place near me I want to photograph, yadda yadda yadda. All excuses. Have a camera on hand. Take it with you. MAKE time, not excuses. I bring my Rolleiflex with me to work and go out and burn a roll on my lunch break. If you're willing to let yourself SEE what's around you, and not just tune out things you think don't interest you, then you'll FIND interesting subjects everywhere you turn. I work in an office building in the middle of Washington DC. If I want architecture, I can photograph it without even leaving the building. If I want nature, there's a (small) park a block from the office. Make it an exercise - go and photograph a favorite tree in the park over and over, in different lighting conditions, different seasons, different weather. You could easily pull a 20-piece portfolio out of that one tree! People? There's always people walking around, relaxing on benches, watching the fountain, eating at the food trucks (and operating the food trucks!). Still life? There's newspaper boxes, fire hose connections, electrical junction boxes, old cast-iron police call boxes. Abstract? use the shadows cast by the park bench, or the wheels of a motorcycle. The only limitation on your creativity is your will.

 

[jsrockit]

If you're willing to let yourself SEE what's around you, and not just tune out things you think don't interest you, then you'll FIND interesting subjects everywhere you turn. I work in an office building in the middle of Washington DC. If I want architecture, I can photograph it without even leaving the building. If I want nature, there's a (small) park a block from the office. Make it an exercise - go and photograph a favorite tree in the park over and over, in different lighting conditions, different seasons, different weather. You could easily pull a 20-piece portfolio out of that one tree! People? There's always people walking around, relaxing on benches, watching the fountain, eating at the food trucks (and operating the food trucks!). Still life? There's newspaper boxes, fire hose connections, electrical junction boxes, old cast-iron police call boxes. Abstract? use the shadows cast by the park bench, or the wheels of a motorcycle. The only limitation on your creativity is your will.

I agree completely. It seems many people (and I'm not referring to those in this thread) make excuses not to photograph instead of just photographing. I will photograph anything. Yeah, I'll end up with a lot of cliches, but then again, I end up with something else sometimes because I'm out there doing it a few days a week for hours and hours. Once I accepted that anything can be a good photo, I've had alot of fun.

 

[furbs]

My excuse is that I live in a city, but so much prefer to photograph nature. That will change soon though when I move to Australia in August, I plan to shoot more 4x5 landscapes, and very much looking forward to it.

Garry,

I think you will enjoy the change of scenery. When I lived in Chicago I was surrounded by city, but nature wasn't that far. I took a train out to the prairie and found shots like this (velvia in a nikon):


Somme Prairie by ffurbss, on Flickr

It should be fun for you with a 4x5 as well. Sometimes I shoot what's nearby when I lose motivation, sometimes I travel far away. Either way, the motivation always returns once I start to see the results of my work. Just keep shooting and the mojo will come back.

 

[farlymac]

mansio, there are photographic opportunities all around you, all the time. The way the light hits an object at certain times of the day. The shadows it leaves. The look of a cobweb on a door hinge. The sweeping expanse of a waterfront. Walk out your front door, turn around, and take a photo of it. Look up in the trees, the branches make wonderful patterns against a blue sky. Shoot an object from every angle you can think of. You could walk a hundred yards, and shoot a 36 exposure roll, and have more keepers than losers.

It's all in how you look at things, and how you want to remember them, and how you want others to know them. And sometimes, it's finding that one thing that really gets your juices flowing. Street. Landscape. Portraiture. Industrial. Farm. Sea life. There are too many subjects to mention, and too little time to take photos of them all. But take as many as you can.

PF

 

[Paul Jenkin]

Carry a camera everywhere - even if it's a smartphone with a camera built-in. Use your travels as an opportunity to take visual notes about places, buildings, things, people - especially if it's somewhere you want to come back to when the light's better / it's stopped raining or whatever.

Not every trip has to be an expedition. Not every photograph is going to be a masterpiece - but you can use your time researching and honing your skills.

 

[ferider]

I go counter-stream here: I don't carry a camera all the time and everywhere. I like to think about what I will shoot next, and then take my camera and try to do what I planned. When I photograph, I photograph. It's fun to think about the next project during the week and then do it on the week-end, for instance. Much more satisfying than thinking about which gear to buy or sell next, anyways.

To the OP:

- more photos don't necessarily lead to better ones. Relax and have fun.
- rain is great for photography, muted colors, reflections, etc.

Roland.

 

[Doug Smith]

I always carry a camera with me. Since I spend a good amount of time walking to work and doing errands, there are always opportunities. I find that if I have a camera I look at my surroundings with a photographic eye and potential shots leap out. I even take a camera when taking out the trash in the evening and often end up walking a few blocks because of the magic hour light and take a few pictures.

 

[konicaman]

I find that if I have a camera I look at my surroundings with a photographic eye and potential shots leap out.

Yup - you experience your surroundings stronger and more fully when carrying a camera; to me it does not matter whether I shoot or not.

 

[noisycheese]

mansio, there are photographic opportunities all around you, all the time. The way the light hits an object at certain times of the day. The shadows it leaves. The look of a cobweb on a door hinge. The sweeping expanse of a waterfront. Walk out your front door, turn around, and take a photo of it. Look up in the trees, the branches make wonderful patterns against a blue sky. Shoot an object from every angle you can think of. You could walk a hundred yards, and shoot a 36 exposure roll, and have more keepers than losers.

It's all in how you look at things, and how you want to remember them, and how you want others to know them. And sometimes, it's finding that one thing that really gets your juices flowing. Street. Landscape. Portraiture. Industrial. Farm. Sea life. There are too many subjects to mention, and too little time to take photos of them all. But take as many as you can.

PF

There is alot of truth in this philosophy. Ernst Haas addressed this very point:

I am not interested in shooting new things - I am interested to see things new.

It's not so much what you see - it's more about how you see it.

A friend recently told me about an exercise he did with his camera. He shut himself in his bathroom and could not leave until he had made one hundred photographs. Now THAT will force you to see things differently! 😉

 

[shadowfox]

I'm not really sure how this is going to get him shooting more. It will force him to invest more time in building a darkroom and then learning how to use it, but that's time he could be shooting, which seems to be what he wants.

You realize that we don't keep building and learning how to use a darkroom, right?

At some point, you stop building and learning, and start using it to produce prints. Once you have established a process, it's faster to get from shooting a frame, to a satisfying (wall-hanging-worthy) print than digital.

Which should motivate one to shoot more. It does that to me and others.

 

[mansio]

i actually intend to relocate the darkroom by the end of this year, the existing darkroom is a little small and i want it at a more convenient locale

i do carry a camera around when i am out, my problem is there because i am a soho person, and at times i am out the routes are rather routine.


great suggestions guys, keep it up 🙂

 

[VF101]

I indeed just bought an enlarger and intend to build a simple darkroom. Thank you Shadowfox for leading me the right way. The main reason is to avoid having to sit at the computer screen all the time.

 

[furbs]

I indeed just bought an enlarger and intend to build a simple darkroom. Thank you Shadowfox for leading me the right way. The main reason is to avoid having to sit at the computer screen all the time.

Glad to hear you're getting into wet printing. That's the same reason I'm thinking of wet printing again - zero of the photographic process spent in front of a computer. There's a public darkroom a fifteen minute walk from my house, so I may get a membership and start printing there.

In my experience, seeing an image appear on paper from a negative you've developed is probably the strongest reinforcement to keep shooting.

 

[Linkert]

Used to work in a warehouse, sending off about 1-1 1/2 tons of books each day (before holidays, 4 tons minimum). Sorting up packages, dragging them around to the right pallet, to the right chauffeur and everything in between.
Everyday a painful day, alarm went off 05:00, workday ended around 16:00-17:00. Back, legs, arms, head. Everything broken.

Not much shooting was done. In fact, I had my FED 2 & 3 laying around for a year before I actually felt like I had the energy to go out and learn how to use them.

We all got fired because the company lost the deal with the book gross dealer. Finally free!

Now I work as a barista at a café located in an art exhibition hall. I get to see fantastic art from all kinds of disciplines and artists. I work part time which means my schedule is quite flexible, might have my weekend in the middle of the week. It's still hard job, very up tempo. I might not be running the streets with my camera after work, but I do have enough free time to get shoot & learn.

It's great! Get a part time job, reduce monthly expenses, live with less 🙂

http://mnmlist.com/about/ – Leo Babauta's site. I highly recommend it for people struggling with stress, time, career and crap like that 😉

 

[shadowfox]

I indeed just bought an enlarger and intend to build a simple darkroom. Thank you Shadowfox for leading me the right way. The main reason is to avoid having to sit at the computer screen all the time.

Very nice!
Go for it and update us.