Why do you practice Photography ?

[Peter]

I think I need help! I do not know why I am doing this!

 

[hoot]

Photography is one of the most creative outlets that a compulsive-obsessive disorder can find. 😀

 

[RayPA]

It's good therapy. 😉

 

[dphotoguy]

Photography is what I call my "safe place." It's a form of therapy that I use to forget about all the crazy things in my life. All it takes is my little RF, few rolls of TriX, and a few hours on the streets and I'll come home a fresh man. It's a great way for me to spend sometime by myself and work out issues/problems I might have. Also, this is the only thing I could do without my girlfriend coming along.=)

 

[chug]

I take pictures to capture a moment that I will most likly forget. having an image of a moment brings back the memories for me 🙂 Thats why I take pictures 🙂

 

[back alley]

because george eastman told me to.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Practice makes perfect?

Cheers,

Roger

 

[Kin Lau]

It's fun.

I photograph to document, to remember and sometimes to try capture a moment.

I also like tinkering with cameras, so I always like to "see what the camera sees" when I'm done fixing it.

 

[kiev4a]

I've always been a looker; an observer. In my time in the US Army, my favorite job was as a Scout - looking around and trying to find them before they found us. Photography is
William

I was a scout, too -- armored cavalry -- "sneakn' and peekn'"

I'm not in photography for greatness or in the hopes of becoming a pro. Been there, done that, a long time ago. My reasons have changes. My goal was once to sell photos to Life Magazine (the real, original LIFE). So I tried to be cleaver and artistic. Photos from that period are pretty much meaningless to me now -- shots of people I don't know or have forgotten or objects that no longer of any interest to me.

When I got back into photography after a 20-year absence, it was primarily to continue the family record started 80 years ago by my father. My primary interest is our daughters and their families. Oh, I like to shoot pictures of trains and historic sites. But bottom line is the only photos that will be of interest to anyone 50 or 100 years from now are the family shots.

My other reasons for being involved in photographer -- especially FSU equipment is again partially historical and partly the mental challenge of learning everything possible about a subject that until a few years ago I knew absolutely nothing about. Through my study of Soviet cameras I've learned a lot about Soviet and Russian history and society. Via the internet I also have made a lot of good friends in the FSU and many other countries. It's a super feeling when someone living where the cameras were made emails me and asks of they can use information from my web site in describing their Ebay items.

So, for photography is about history, the mental challenge and the social aspects more that producing great photographs.

 

[RubenBlaedel]

I have always liked to draw and paint so I got into photography early but had to put it to rest because I could not aford it. I picked up on photography again while attending design school, and when I started in publishing producing and designing books I found that a lot of the pictures we got for the books were kind of lousy, so I rigged up a mobile studio - first with an old Hasslelblad and a couple of small studio flashes. Pretty fast that grew to Fuji GX 680 and more Hasselblad and more studioflash so the past ten years my company have taken control over the phographic process on almost all outr projects witch is great - we get the best quality and we can design while we shoot and visa versa. Before that we had to work with a very un-humogen amount of photographs from different museums and institutions - now we do some travel to the different places but we are in control. Along this work I picked up photography again on a personal plane - and I find it a lovely therapeutic way to get rid of stress while at the same time create some beautiful pictures. I really find pleasure in shooting but on the other hand I also like the different techniques and gear.
Manual gear from the 50 ties have given me een more pleasure in creating images - no bibs blips and lamps and lcd screens - silence and the soft sound of either the M shutter or the even more quiet shutter in the rolleiflex - nice

 

[Sonnar Brian]

1) I have really poor Eyesight, and I like to see things up-close and sharp.

2) I hate my picture being taken, so i always want to be the one holding the camera.

3) It is a lot of fun.

 

[sf]

why I take pictures

why I take pictures

For me, photography is tangible appreciation of the world. It is a physical realization of my point of view, and I like to capture images that have depth. I have three different photographic modes. In my portrait work, I try to avoid the classic look, and instead shoot in a very candid style that focuses on special characteristics of my subjects. When shooting on the street, I try hard to see things that others ignore on a daily basis - little details, fixtures of daily streetl-life in Seattle. When I shoot landscapes, I really try for an emotional facet to each photograph, but often just mangage to capture exactly what I want.

I don't know, I suppose I am a really visual person and i like to share my view of things with others. And I like to notice beauty where it might be often unseen.

For me, photography is just a tool of nostalgia in some respects, it helps me remember. Every photograph is a web of related memories, and my daily shooting is just a sort of documentary for my own use.

 

[canonetc]

"I practice Zen [photography] so that heaven/enlightenment is Not-Achieved, since heaven/enlightenment is not 'understood' by man or Buddha." - anonymous

C.

 

[pendevour]

Enjoyment, pleasure, creative outlet. All of these but mainly for fun.

 

[pendevour]

I think its important to try and make a picture rather than take a picture, it's a lot more rewarding and lot more fun.