so much angst! why?

[back alley]

it's just a hobby for most of us yet so many of us suffer from so much angst....about gear, about what our style might be, is this a good image? what do others really think of our pics? why don't people comment on my stuff?

do other hobbies suffer similarly?

 

[Keith]

I think it's great that we display so much passion about what we do ... it proves that it is actually important to us.

If you want to agonise over gear choice ... fine!

If you agonise over images as well that's even better.

 

[clayne]

Well, now that society is biased even more in the "look at me! look at me! look at me!" direction, it's not going to get any better as the population keeps rising and individuals keep getting sold on being a unique flower.

Has the world gotten more selfish? I'd probably say yes.

 

[f16sunshine]

My question would be.

Is anyone actually truly feeling it (angst) or, does it just come across that way in inter web conversation?

I do see what you're talking about though.
People do seem to have their knickers in a twist quite often in thread posts.
I just chalk it up to most people liking to behave a bit dramatic when not in face to face dialog... You know.... Drama Queens! 😛

 

[tunalegs]

The people who don't feel it don't write about it.

Other hobbies do have a the same sort of feelings though.

 

[f16sunshine]

ooops .....

 

[Keith]

My son races RC cars and I see a mirror in his world of what happens here.

It's quite forum driven, people are constantly selling and buying gear to gain that intangible advantage that they think exists in what they currently don't have, and they argue a lot in cyberspace with very little outcome! Occasionally someone turns up at the track with a five year old car being held together with spit and string and kicks their arses because they have real talent.

 

[swoop]

It's a human thing.

 

[squareshooter]

I used to collect stamps. Boy, are those guys a vicious lot. Of course there's a lot more money involved. Priced an upside-down Jenny lately?

 

[sebastel]

gear:
i tried quite some (but not as much as other guys i know), and by now, i have a pretty good idea of what works for me. once in a while, however, i am still surprized in what certain items can do (recently the rollei 35, for example).
what do you mean, "angst (*)"?

pictures:
i'm not as good as i'd like to be - but i have some ideas (concepts?) to follow up on, and i notice that slowly my results get better.
and, i am very happy with doing what i do.
again, what do you mean, "angst (*)"?


(*) angst [german] = fear.
is there a shift in the word's meanng when used in english?

 

[f16sunshine]

(*) angst [german] = fear.
is there a shift in the word's meanng when used in english?

Yes it means fear or anxiety.

 

[back alley]

is it the connection between our feelings as artists and the future?
what exactly will most of leave behind after we are dead?
family comes to mind, perhaps a career legacy of sorts...some writings? photos? images?

what, as we age and think more about it, has our life really come to mean?

right brain/left brain...

 

[jky]

"angst" or anxiety... brought on by the passion we all have with photography, no?

 

[back alley]

but do other hobbies/hobbyists share a similar passion?

 

[jky]

but do other hobbies/hobbyists share a similar passion?

I believe so. I was very much into gas/electric radio controlled trucks and had the same "angst" about making the truck go faster/jump higher; driving skills gotta get better...

 

[MiniMoke]

I think this 'angst' is brought forth by every passion in life. More or less depending on the persons character.

I was deep into HiFi some time ago and that is an even darker pit than camera gear. You worry constantly about your gear, try to get the best out of it, to tweak and tune, to endlessly shuffle your speakers around to get the best position..... and you don't listen to the music, you listen to the sounds. You move your listening position around to optimize the stereo effect but you don't get to enjoy the music.

I finally let go of my multi thousand euro gear and bought a nice ipod/iphone dock (B&W Zeppelin).

I hear the music now!

 

[Moto-Uno]

And if you think camera gear or stereo is cause for endless "angst" you should try
motorcycles!!!! BUT,you know what,I kinda like it.
POeter

 

[back alley]

i've read of audiophiles who, having exhausted every 'gear' angle...had their ears cleaned!!

 

[MiniMoke]

lmao !!!!!

 

[Sejanus.Aelianus]

In my opinion, this is something that affects a tiny minority.

So far as I can see, most people have much more pressing anxieties about paying their rent or getting their children enough to eat.

For my part, I stopped feeling angst about my photography, when I stopped doing it for money. Now it gives me nothing but pleasure.