still having fun?

[back alley]

making some assumptions here...

that for most of us photography is a hobby and that part of any hobby is to have some fun.

in the day to day postings we sometimes get hung up on gear (what's the best?) and contentious issues (film or digital?)...

but, are you still having any fun with your photography?

 

[ruby.monkey]

Yup. Today I'm fiddling with a Pentax 645N (ran out of 35mm, and everywhere's closed for Easter). Yesterday I chased my four-year-old son and his friend round the Horniman Museum with an F4S-full of Neopan 1600. The day before it was the pair of them tearing up my house; an OM-2N did the honours. There's an Olympus Trip 35 riding in my work bag every day, and I usually carry a 'real' camera with me wherever I go.

And all the gear is secondary to the sheer pleasure of seeing and capturing everything around me.

 

[ErnestoJL]

Definitely yes!

After 47 years shooting I found that photography is a kind of chronic disease, that infects you at anytime in your life, goes with you up to the last minute, brings a lot of Fun (and sometimes happyness too), and requires from you only to get close to other people just to infect them.
Of course, no regrets about.
Less of course after doing my first exhibition past January.
Now I´m planning the next one.

Cheers
Ernesto

 

[robklurfield]

I feel bad if I go more than a day or so without making images.

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Lots of fun, including today...

 

[semordnilap]

Yep... always fun!

 

[brachal]

Heck yes. I love a day when I can go out shooting. I even had a gear-related moment of happiness the other day. I usually only shoot rangefinder, but I've had my father's old Nikkormat FTn for a couple of years. I took it to the swamp and got some amazing (I think) shots of tree frogs that wouldn't have been possible with my rangefinder kit. The whole SLR experience was fun and different.

 

[maddoc]

Sure. I just today took a couple of snaps and developed a roll. Amateur(ish)-photography without having fun would not make much sense to me.

 

[leica M2 fan]

Over 60+ years with cameras and still enjoy taking and seeing the images I produced.
Plan to stick with it for a few more years.

 

[Michael Da Re]

I don't think the fun will ever go away no matter what camera I'm using. But what about you Joe? You haven't said whether or not your still having fun.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Usually. Not always. Illustrating a monthly magazine column (Land Rover World) with a single, light-hearted image is sometimes harder work than it should be, especially when I'm the subject and art director and Frances is pressing the button.

But if it weren't fun, I wouldn't do it. I don't do accountancy any more, for that very reason.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

That was not my case... Not to start a discussion, but for some time I didn't have fun some years ago, when I went digital. Besides that, I learned I enjoy a lot more shooting for myself than for money... Before earning money on photography I thought doing it would be great, but no, it became just a job, almost boring... I'm a lot happier when I shoot in the street, without a precise plan, and not being paid...

Cheers,

Juan

 

[ruby.monkey]

(Photography? Fun. Batch scanning with Vuescan? Not fun. Except for the neighbours who get to learn a whole new set of expletives.)

 

[chris000]

Oh Yes! Had fun out in the sunshine today after days of sh*t weather.

Took the Mamiya 7 for a walk, shot about 20 frames of FP4 - life is good.

😎

 

[back alley]

I don't think the fun will ever go away no matter what camera I'm using. But what about you Joe? You haven't said whether or not your still having fun.

i love photography, looking at what i have created and i love the gear too.
i sometimes get too hung up on what to carry and wind up taking too much and then it's not as much fun for me.
the m4/3 cameras have brought much of the FUN back for me. just get up and go and shoot.

 

[gb hill]

Photography should always be about enjoyment. To me it's a hobby & even if I was ever talented enough, I don't think I would ever do this for a living because I see so many (but not all) after a while lose that spirit of enjoyment & it becomes too stressful. The reason they got into the business to start with is buried somewhere deep in their soul, lost, & it needs to be rekindled again. Several blogs I've read from pros say when burn out comes the cure is always found when they grab a camera & simply return to their roots & head off somewhere focusing on themselves for awhile & forgetting about others.

 

[Pickett Wilson]

Photography has been my job and primary hobby my entire adult life. It's always been fun. Been snapping away with my Yashica A this morning after spending all day yesterday covering a local festival for work.

 

[zenlibra]

Always fun, even if my shots turn out mediocre I'm still glad I tried. I went out with my Yashica A on Good Friday and played with double exposures.

 

[snausages]

I don't know that I'd call it fun. It's compulsion. Like scratching an itch. Which is sometimes satisfying. And sometimes leaves you more itchy.

 

[Sparrow]

I don't know that I'd call it fun. It's compulsion. Like scratching an itch. Which is sometimes satisfying. And sometimes leaves you more itchy.

Yep, that's it; but then that's life I suppose?