Taking less or more photos when unhappy?

[Rob-F]

Most people do less of what they like to do when they are depressed or not in a good mood...just wait it out till you feel happier and then you are back in the saddle again with camera in hand.

It is true that people stop doing the things they usually enjoy when they are depressed. In fact, it's actually a diagnostic indicator of depression. The self-talk is, e.g., "When I feel better, I'll start photographing again." There is a mode of psychotherapy called "solution focused therapy" that reverses the order. The idea is that if you will resume doing some of the things you quit doing when you became depressed, you will probably feel better. In this case, the directive would be, "Start photographing again in order to feel better."

It often works.

 

[robert blu]

interesting thread and many interesting comments, thanks AlexBG and all the other who answered.

I usually feel the need to take photos, and most of times my photo are somehow related to a specific project. Perhaps not really specific, sometimes the boundaries are a little vague but must be a generic idea.

My feelings influence not much the amount of photos but the output, in the past some of my very good friends looking at my pictures were able to say if I was happy, sad orangry when I took the photo!

Last year we had in Italy very hard covid time, specually in the beginning with not many infos available, no masks, difficult to buy detergent or even a mix of soap with alchool which was suggested by the health authorities and hundreds of daily deaths in our regions and yes, photography helped me to keep my mental balance.

I took almost daily pictures, in different styles according to the dailt mood and this became later a book, I have a thread about it: https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=172756

This year when we had many semilockdown weeks and we were allowed only to go out and walk in our neighborhood I worked on a different project (still in progress) about the light in my area, how it could change specially in winter fron one day to the next, one day soft next day strong. A few pictures are in the gallery.

The negative side of the covid experience till now is that I had to stop a couple of projects which requires some short trip (which were forbidden) and now that I could go on I do not feel to do it, I lost interest in them. Maybe it is only a question of time, I admit to be still a little upset by this strong experience.

As ozmoose says "It's good that we have "survived Covid" with our creative projects. For many of us, photography is an important and valued lifeline to the world and our mental health, and it has to be sustained. Long may we go on doing so!!

And RFF with the many friends was a great help in the difficult time, thanks to everybody 🙂
__________________"

 

[Archiver]

I took almost daily pictures, in different styles according to the dailt mood and this became later a book, I have a thread about it: https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=172756

This year when we had many semilockdown weeks and we were allowed only to go out and walk in our neighborhood I worked on a different project (still in progress) about the light in my area, how it could change specially in winter fron one day to the next, one day soft next day strong. A few pictures are in the gallery.

The negative side of the covid experience till now is that I had to stop a couple of projects which requires some short trip (which were forbidden) and now that I could go on I do not feel to do it, I lost interest in them. Maybe it is only a question of time, I admit to be still a little upset by this strong experience.

As ozmoose says "It's good that we have "survived Covid" with our creative projects. For many of us, photography is an important and valued lifeline to the world and our mental health, and it has to be sustained. Long may we go on doing so!!

And RFF with the many friends was a great help in the difficult time, thanks to everybody 🙂
__________________"

How did I miss this book project! What a great result.

That's one of the things I missed most during lockdown - the ability to get out and shoot on a whim. Being confined to 5km radius from home, not being able to leave for anything other than grocery shopping or an hour exercise, that wasn't good. The number of photos of my kitchen and laundry went up dramatically! I saw other photographers taking up product photography as they were unable to go out as they normally would.

 

[Richard G]

I understand the OP's inertia on photography. I think that is to be expected. Hope it all turns for the better.

I felt the pressure during the worst uncertainty during the early part of the pandemic. I had no time for photography. But I was desperate to take a photograph. I took it on the way to work, having turned down a side street I'd not been down before. It kept me absorbed for 5-10 minutes. That's what I wanted. Being outdoors, mercifully without a mask at that time, just absorbed in the task. Always brings to mind Barnwulf's signature quote from Giacometti the sculptor: "I now work only for the sensation I have while working." I crave that sensation. The restlessness is in a sense a prerequisite.

 

[skucera]

Stress, unhappiness, or just ennui all result in me taking almost no creative photos. As a test engineer, I still take lots of photos as part of work, but they're all just work. My creative juices have to be flowing for me to see photo opportunities and to get out and just have fun taking photos. This is even more true for me when I'm shooting film.

Scott