What are your photographic aspirations?

What are your photographic aspirations?

  • I will be happy if my photography continues to give me pleasure and perhaps a few others.

    Votes: 94 87.0%

  • I will only be happy if my talent is recognized by galleries.

    Votes: 14 13.0%
  • Total voters
    108
  • Poll closed .
Hi FrankS,

Although I am not sure, I am prompted to think that the second option you offer is too narrow.

Perhaps it should be written

I will be happy if my photographic skills are publicly reckognized
(leaving open for every one what "publicly" means). Thus for example, a TV documentary about your work is a great reckognition, perhaps more powerfull than several galleriy exhibitions.

Cheers,
Ruben
 
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I want to be published and recognized by more than just immediate friends and families and a few random people online.



Go big or not at all.
 
There was a time when I hoped to become famous for my photography. I hoped for that as I am sure many do. In one sense I was well known for my photography. Within a group of my peers in my former work, I was known to have a lot of knowledge (in the land of the blind ...), and always to be able to get a needed photo. It felt kind of good to be consulted or asked to take photos because nobody else could. Or at least didn't have the confidence they could. I also taught photography at a local university. That was really fun! Passing on knowledge and believing that I really inspired some of my students to do more in photography. I have always felt good about that.

But fame? I don't think I would want to put the effort into it that I know it would need. I just want to enjoy again.
 
If I thought about it, I would say that I derive pleasure from photography in three different ways:

1. The capture - getting out and about with the camera, going to places that I haven't been, seeing things and people that are unfamiliar to me, and capturing their essence. Coupled with this is the enjoyment derived from using a beautiful piece of machinery and mastering it's quirks.

2 - The result - the enjoyment I personally derive from seeing the developed photo. I don't particularly enjoy fiddling around in Photoshop, but I will do so to finalise the end-result to my taste.

3 - The feedback - This can come in many forms. I post on the interweb here, on flickr, on the Leica Forum and on GoWander.com. I also show my photos to my friends and family. I have been working on a project for a couple of years now on the city of Guildford, and plan to have an exhibition there before the end of the year, but that is pure vanity - there is no commercial motive.

So, in percentage terms, I'd say that my pleasure flows as follows:

The capture - 40%
The result - 40%
The feedback - 20%

Or, in terms of Mr. Pareto, I rely on the approval of others for only 20% of my enjoyment.

Regards,

Bill
 
This is a thought-provoking thread, Frank.
I'm a working photojournalist and am constantly under pressure to shoot my best work for my newspaper. As I primarily cover the police/fire beat, my subject matter makes my job easier.
That said, I've been working very hard to establish my own business in dog and equestrian photography, because I know it well and it's where I shine.
Being rich and famous isn't tops on my list; if I become an established and respected photographer in my own community I'll be content. It's slowly happening...at age 54, I might add!
Besides, I really don't want to be a Corbis or Magnum photographer under the gun to shoot 300 outstanding images each month! :eek:
 
Its Interesting That The Younger Crowd Seems To Have Loftier Expectations Than The Older Crowd. Not Surprising I Suppose.....
 
I should have included a 3rd category in this poll: I am striving for a career in commercial photography.

The primary goal for my photography and what I plan for, is:
a) a self-satisfying hobby activity, I'm not looking for fortune or fame
b) a paying career in some field of commercial photography
c) a success in the art world, I'm looking for fame and recognition as an artist

For many of us hobbyists, achieving fame and recognition would of course be nice if it happened, but we aren't deluded by thoughts of grandeur and thinking we are the undiscovered "next big thing" in photography.

For choice "c", I'm thinking of those who are driven/motivated by this outcome and who would consider anything less as failure. This saying applies here: Talent will do what it can, Genius will do what it must.

I think that the responses so far demonstrate that RFF members are pretty realistic about their artistic/photographic abilities. We are not making the claim of being great photographers who simply need to be discovered for our genius to recognized. We are still striving to improve and to learn, but our primary motivation for photography is not fame and fortune.
 
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Great thread, Frank.

For me it's hobby and welcome distraction from my work. I enjoy the process (which is why I shoot film), its introverted character and that it's consuming enough to forget everything else.

Roland.
 
To me it's a hobby, but I'm willing to take it as far as it will let me. I bought a year of Roger & Frances photo school to help knowledge wise. It's helping tremendously. My aspirations for this coming year are: to increase my knowledge & develop my eye to compose an image. I was thrilled the other month when I was contacted by someone to submit one of my photos to be included in a N.C. travel guide. I have an invite to go & shoot some local Indie rock bands for a project that's on going. Best of all photography has led me to meet some fantastic people in the area who are interested in seeing each other achieve their goals.
 
I'm narcisstic in my desire for photography. I'd like to make someone feel the same way I did (and do) when I see amazing work, like when I went to see the roger ballen, edward burtynsky and sebastiao salgado exhibitions that came here. Seeing photos like those (especially for the first time) I feel a great sense of awe, not for the technical qualities (although they can be inspiring too), but for the way those pictures totally absorb my attention.

If I can achieve that.. well it would make me very very happy.
 
///Alan Astonish said:
I was wondering when something like this would appear.


To clarify my previous statement (see above), I said "the sky is the limit" because it is. I have no way of knowing what lies ahead for me in the future. All I can do is use the information at hand to make the best decisions possible.

Besides, the fame-hunters can have it. I don't want it because it usually involves doing something outlandish...

+

In defense of ALL the younger kids on here, the quality that distinguishes the people that are successful in life and those who are not is acting in spite of fear because to me, becoming a photographer is all about confronting fear and exploring something new as it leads to a lot of creativity happening.

As aspiring photographers, the skill of conceptualization (like, the ability to dream) is important because the world doesn't need another doctor, lawyer or PHOTOGRAPHER. What the world needs are people who are WILLING to innovate, to give the world something it's never seen before.

I'm sure at one point or another our parents told us to "be yourself". No one needs another picture-taker like Bresson, Salgado, Capa and _________.
Click to expand...



Here is a great quote which states the essence of what you said: "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive. The world needs people who are alive."
 
I like making things. Whether it's a photo, a print, or something else I don't really care. I might pick up a camera, play with photoshop, record a jam session with my friends, or go down to the basement and whack chisels, fondle handtools or stare at an oscilloscope and huff solder fumes. It all gives me the same rush. All these 'hobbies' require tools and it's the tools that enable me to engage in the process of making something. I really don't care about the results being perfect, or expect anyone else to see anything significant in what I spend MY time doing. As long as what I do today is better than what I did yesterday, I'm pretty happy.

There are more boxes of photographs, slides, negatives, home movies, etc. in my family than I (or anyone) would know what to do with. Sure, some of them may be significant beyond my bloodline, but that's not because they're of or by anyone I'm related to. I guess the best I can hope for is to someday have a kid that's a photo nut like me, otherwise I can see a lot of my junk at a flea market, like all those orphaned photos I saw out there this morning.

Sometimes I would rather just do my thing and not really think about why. Analyzing, intellectualizing, philosophizing, just seems to make it all a little more depressing ;)
 
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I understand about over-analysing: An ant once asked a millipede how it was able to walk with so many legs and not trip up. The millipede stopped to think about it, and never walked again.

But some degree of self-analysis is useful. Just not constant navel-gazing.
 
Jesus Art

Jesus Art

I guess because I come from a family of arty types a certain amount of competing, gallery exhibition, and a little bit of publishing and teaching comes with the territory. It's never been that big of deal.

After you meet a couple of folks who have some real recognition but really aren't doing that much better than you are making a living at the craft then you realize that satisfaction comes from elsewhere.

As far as finding legitimate art outside galleries goes, even being a rapist or serial murderer is a form of hobby.

I have a simple standard. When I see, hear, or make a work that makes me stand back and say to myself, 'Sweet Jesus!', then I'm seeing real success.

I call that 'Jesus art'.
 
cirque said:
I have a new one: At the moment my aspirations concerning photography is non-existent. All this comes from a small book I read: "On being a photographer" by David Hurn and Bill Jay. One of the things that are brought up in this little gem is the fact that you actually have to take an interest in what you are photographing. And not some brief interest, but a long lasting interest that keeps you focused on what you are doing. I read about people taking their camera out for a "stroll" and snapping away, but this hasn't worked for me at all. I end up with mediocre snapshots, boring beyond belief, and this has made me focus on gear more than anything else.

So my aspiration at the moment is: Put those cameras in the closet, until I actually get interested in something that are worth pursuing photographically.

Basically, I'm building projects at the moment, and it is far more rewarding than the last three years of photography I've done. I guess that says a lot about how bad my current photos are.
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That's what I thought... Funny, isn't it? Very harsh towards other's but mediocre yourself (in your words).

Hm... Good food for thought.
 
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Like many here, I love the process of photographing, developing, printing, etc. I know I will always do it. And I know 2 other things:

1) I'm not so good at it to earn a decent living and retire, and

2) If it were my job, I wouldn't enjoy it nearly as much.
 
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